Penn State, Texas Advance to NCAA Final

Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 17, 2009) – Top-seed and two-time defending champion Penn State (37-0) and second-seed Texas (29-1), the top two teams in NCAA Division I volleyball all season, won their respective semifinal matches in the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships on Dec. 17 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., setting up a much-anticipated title match.

Penn State and Texas will meet in the championship match on Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. ET. The match will be televised live on ESPN2 and ESPN360.

Using its height advantage to create a dominating block, Penn State needed to overcome an opening set loss versus No. 12 seed Hawaii to win 23-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-18. The Nittany Lions will attempt to become the first school to win three consecutive titles and finish consecutive seasons undefeated. Penn State will also attempt to win its fourth NCAA women’s volleyball titles in school history.

Hawaii finished its season 32-3 as it was playing in its first NCAA semifinal since 2003.

The Nittany Lion victory marked the team’s 101st consecutive match dating back to September of 2007. In addition, Penn State Head Coach Russ Rose won his 1,000th-career match in the process. Ironically, Hawaii Head Coach Dave Shoji reached 1,000-career wins earlier this year and ranks second all-time with 1,016 victories.

Megan Hodge led Penn State offensively with 12 kills, in addition to 15 digs and two block assists. Arielle Wilson added 11 kills on a .346 hitting efficiency to go with six block assists. Blair Brown chipped in 10 kills to go with seven block assists, seven digs and six assists. Alisha Glass just missed a triple double with nine kills on 13 errorless swings, 41 assists, 11 digs and three block assists. Darcy Dorton contributed eight kills and three block assists in the match, while Fatima Balza charted a team-high nine block assists and four kills.

Penn State out-blocked Hawaii 15-0 in team blocks. Although Penn State hit well below its season team hitting efficiency at .276, the Nittany Lions limited the Rainbow Wahine to a .135 hitting efficiency as a team with 31 attack errors.

Kanani Danielson paced Hawaii with 14 kills and 11 digs, while Stephanie Ferrell added 13 kills in the loss. Aneli Cubi-Otineru tallied 10 kills and 11 digs for a double-double. Amber Kaufman pocketed a 12 points in the match with nine kills and all three of her team’s aces. Dani Mafua set Hawaii with 44 assists to go with 17 digs.

For a full recap of the Penn State-Hawaii match including stats, video highlights, quotes and notes, click here.

Earlier in the night, Texas swept No. 11 Minnesota 25-19, 25-20. 25-15 to reach the championship match for the first time since 1995 and its third in school history. The Longhorns won the 1988 NCAA championship in its other appearance in the final match.

Minnesota, playing in its first semifinal since 2004, finished the season at 28-9.

Destinee Hooker hammered out 17 kills on a .342 hitting percentage to go with an ace, three block assists and four digs. Ashley Engle charted 10 kills on 18 swings and added 25 assists. Juliann Faucette provided the Longhorns with 10 kills, while Jennifer Doris hit .455 with seven kills and two block assists. Heather Kisner led the Texas backrow defense with 21 digs.

Minnesota was sparked by Hailey Cowles and her 12 kills and two aces. Lauren Gibbemeyer collected eight kills in the loss, while Tabitha Love recorded six kills.

As a team, Texas hit .400 (50 kills, 10 errors, 100 attempts) and held the Gophers to a .160 attack efficiency. The Longhorns held a 5-2 margin in team blocks.

For a full recap of the Texas-Minnesota match including stats, video highlights, quotes and notes, click here.

To view the entire NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship bracket, click here.

Tags: college volleyball, NCAA