Christa Harmotto
Position: Middle Blocker
Height: 6-2
Weight: NA
Hometown/Residence: Aliquippa, Pa.
Birth Date: Oct. 12, 1986
College/Major/Grad Year: Penn State/Elementary Education/NA
Joined Team: April 2009
MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2009 – Tour of Egypt…Pan American Cup (Fourth); FIVB World Championship Qualification Tournament – NORCECA Pool G (Gold)…FIVB World Grand Prix (Ninth)…Final Four Intercontinental Cup (Silver)...NORCECA Continental Championship (Fourth).
INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2009 – Charted a 2.26 scoring average with a .389 hitting efficiency in first international season with the U.S. Women’s National Team, playing in every single tournament with 18 starts and 69 sets played…Tallied match-high 18 points versus Egypt on April 10, producing 16 kills on 25 attempts with just two errors for a 64 percent on kill attempts…Started six of seven matches at the Pan American Cup, producing a 2.29 scoring average over 21 sets…Held a .381 hitting efficiency and 0.67 blocks per set average at the Pan American Cup…Started all three matches of the FIVB World Championship Qualification Tournament – NORCECA Pool G event and contributed 1.11 points per set while converting eight of 16 attacks into kills…Started first two matches of the FIVB World Grand Prix and played in a total of six sets during the opening weekend of the event…Contributed five points with three kills on five attacks and two blocks versus Germany on July 31…Named Best Blocker during Final Four Intercontinental Cup after averaging 0.95 blocks per set as part of a 2.40 scoring average…Converted 54 percent of her attacks into points during Final Four Cup, including a .396 hitting efficiency with two matches against top-ranked Brazil…Provided 16 points in Final Four Cup opener against Brazil in which she tallied 10 kills with a .600 hitting efficiency, five blocks and an ace…Tallied 10 points in a rematch with Brazil in the gold-medal match of the Final Four Cup on Sept. 13…Contributed seven blocks as part of 9-point match against Dominican Republic on Sept. 12 during Final Four Cup semifinals…Tallied 25 points in nine sets played during NORCECA Continental Championship…Scored five kills on six errorless attacks to go with five blocks against Costa Rica on Sept. 24…Recorded six kills on eight attacks with an ace in start versus Mexico on Sept. 22.
COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2008 - Led Penn State to second consecutive NCAA Division I title with an undefeated season...Named American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America First-Team after leading the nation with a .486 hitting efficiency...One of four finalists for the Honda Award for volleyball...Earned fourth consecutive All-Big Ten Conference award...Averaged 1.47 blocks per set for third-best in the nation...Added 2.43 kills per set...Assisted Penn State to sixth consecutive Big Ten Conference title...Selected as the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)...Spending spring semester student-teaching elementary-aged students in England. 2007 - Selected AVCA All-America First-Team and one of four finalists for the Honda Award for volleyball...Led Penn State to the NCAA Division I Tournament championship title...Named ESPN The Magazine Third-Team Academic All-America...Started all 366 matches and played in 121 of 122 sets...Ranked second in the nation in attack efficiency with a .492 mark...Ranked sixth nationally with a 1.65 block average, providing a team-high 200 total blocks for seventh-best all-time at the school...Hit .548 during the NCAA Tournament with 3.00 kills per set in postseason action...Hit .917 (11-0-12) versus Michigan State on Sept. 21. 2006 - Selected AVCA All-America Second-Team as she ranked first on the team in blocks with 1.58 per game (14th in nation), second in hitting efficiency with a .405 percentage (10th in nation) and was third on the team in kills with 2.85 per game... 2005 - Selected AVCA All-America honorable mention as a freshman...One of only four freshmen to ever be named All-Big Ten First-Team...Selected to AVCA/NACWAA Showcase All-Tournament team in first collegiate matches...Started the first 29 matches of the year before knee injury forced her to miss last Big Ten weekend and NCAA Tournament...Set Penn State single match record for blocks with 13 against Southern California on Aug. 31...Led team in blocking with 1.50 per set...Recorded 25 matches with three or more blocks, including 14 matches with five or more blocks...Ranked third in the Big Ten Conference with a .356 attack percentage...Ranked second on team with 2.96 kills per set.
OTHER USA VOLLEYBALL EXPERIENCE: Member of the 2004 U.S. Women's Junior National Team that won the NORCECA Women's Junior Continental Championship in Winnipeg, Canada ... Selected to the 2005 U.S. Women's Junior National Team that competed in Ankara, Turkey, at the FIVB Under-20 World Championships.
CLUB/PREP CAREER: Three-year volleyball letterwinner and two-year basketball letterwinner at Hopewell High School in Hopewell Township, Pa...Team captain for the Vikings in 2004...Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year in 2004...Two-time Prep Volleyball High School All-American... 2004-2005 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Female High School Athlete of the Year...Mizuno First-Team All-American following senior season, also picking up Beaver County Times, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Female Athlete of the Year accolades...Two-time first-team all-state, all-WPIAL and all-section...Posted a scholastic team record of 75-4 through three years...Recorded a school-record 186 blocks during junior season in 2003 and posted a school-record .595 hitting percentage in senior year to go along with 448 kills, 376 digs and 172 blocks...Led team to a No. 1 ranking in the state of Pennsylvania and the 2004 section, WPIAL and state championships, winning every tournament entered prior to the postseason...Also section and AA WPIAL champions in 2002 and 2003...Helped Hopewell to a 59-0 record against WPIAL opponents from 2001 to 2005 and a 103-match winning streak against section opponents...Member of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Volleyball Club that qualified for the USA Junior Olympic Girls' Volleyball Championships in 2004 and 2005...Member of the National Honor Society...Member of the Principal's Student Leadership Advisory Board.
PERSONAL: Born Christa Deanne Harmotto on Oct. 12, 1986, in Sewickley, Pa...Parents are Robert and Constance Harmotto...Father played basketball at Juniata College...Has younger brothers Nathan and Nolan ...Majored in elementary education at Penn State...Nicknames are Motti and Chri...Hobbies include snowboarding, art and scrapbooking...Favorite musical group is Sugarland...Favorite subject in school is math...Favorite pro sports team is Pittsburgh Steelers...Favorite athlete is Hines Ward of Pittsburgh Steelers...Favorite food is gnocchi's...Favorite book is "Mind Gym" by Gary Mack with David Casstevens...Favorite TV show is Desperate Housewives...Favorite actor is Jack Nicholson...Favorite actress is Sandra Bullock...Favorite place to visit is Hilton Head, S.C.
Updated: Nov. 11, 2009
