In 2015, Penn State finished 4th in the Big Ten and advanced only to the NCAA Region Semifinal where they were swept by Hawaii.[1] Penn State began the year ranked #1[2] after having won the national championship the previous two seasons.
| 2015 Penn State Nittany Lions women's volleyball | |
|---|---|
 | |
NCAA regional semifinal, L vs. Hawaii 0-3 (22-25, 25-27, 16-25) | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 8 |
| Record | 28-6 (15-5 (4th) Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
|
| Associate head coach | Salima Rockwell (5th season) |
| Home arena | Rec Hall (Capacity: 6,502) |
Roster edit
Penn State lost 4 important players from the previous year's championship team. Setter Micha Hancock, middle blocker Nia Grant, libero Dominique Gonzalez and defensive specialist Lacey Fuller all graduated. The four returning starters were Megan Courtney, Ali Frantti, Haleigh Washington and Aiyana Whitney. While Whitney was a returning starter, she played much of the season at middle blocker which was a new position for her in 2015.[3]
Prior to the 2015 season, Whitney was selected to represent Penn State on the Big Ten Volleyball Foreign Tour, where a team composed of players from each conference school competed in Slovenia, Croatia and Italy over the summer.[4]
| Number | Player | Position | Year | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  Lara Caraway
|
DS | SR | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| 3 | Kendall Pierce
|
Libero | SR | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| 4 |  Wilma Rivera
|
Setter/DS | FR | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| 5 | Ali Frantti
|
OH | SO | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| 6 | Nia Reed
|
OH | RS FR | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| 8 | Lainy Pierce
|
DS | SO | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| 10 | Carley Muller
|
DS | JR | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| 11 |  Tori Gorrell
|
MB | FR | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| 12 | Keeton Holcomb
|
Libero | FR | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| 13 | Taylor Krause
|
DS | JR | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| 14 | Aiyana Whitney
|
OH/MB | RS SR | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| 15 | Haleigh Washington
|
MB | SO | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| 16 |  Jelena Novakovic
|
OPP | FR | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| 17 | Megan Courtney
|
OH | SR | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| 19 | Heidi Thelen
|
MB | SO | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| 21 | Bryanna Weiskircher
|
Setter | RS FR | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| 22 | Simone Lee
|
OH | SO | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| 24 | Laura Broerman
|
DS | JR | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) |
Coaches edit
- Russ Rose - Head Coach
- Salima Rockwell - Associate Head Coach
- Stevie Mussie - Assistant coach
- Jesse Tupac - Director of Volleyball Operations
- Shawn Sangrey - Volunteer Assistant
References edit
- ^ "Penn State Comes Up Short in NCAA regional semifinals,11 December 2015". Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ "Women's Volleyball Tops AVCA Preseason Poll". Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ "No. 1 Women's Volleyball Set for Season-Opener".
- ^ "Whitney Selected to B1G Foreign Tour Roster". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2015.