Post by VBSID on Oct 3, 2005 12:46:44 GMT -5
Tortorello Named Big Ten Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week
Senior setter earns third career conference weekly honor
University Park, Pa., Oct. 3, 2005 – Senior women’s volleyball setter Sam Tortorello (Shorewood, Ill.) was named the Big Ten Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week for the first time this season and the third time in her career, conference officials announced today.
Tortorello’s honor marks the 38th Big Ten Player of the Week accolade earned by a Penn State student-athlete since joining the conference for the 1991 season and makes her only the fourth Nittany Lion to pick up three or more weekly league honors. She joins Jen Reimers (Oct. 4 & 18, Nov. 1, 1993), Terri Zemaitis (Nov. 13, 1995; Sept. 16, 1996; Sept. 8 & Nov. 24, 1997) and Lauren Cacciamani (Sept. 15, 1997; Oct. 5 & Nov. 2, 1998; Sept. 20 & Nov. 1, 1999) as the only players to accomplish the feat.
It is also the fourth weekly honor for a Nittany Lion this season as senior Kaleena Walters (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) earned the first two Defensive Player of the Week honors in league history on Aug. 29 and Sept. 5 and freshman Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) picked up the honor last week, becoming Penn State’s first freshman ever to win the award.
Last weekend Tortorello led the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions to two Big Ten wins over No. 18 Ohio State and Indiana as Penn State remained one of only two undefeated squads in the league. In Columbus on Wednesday night, the senior kept the Buckeyes off-balance as three Penn State players reached double-digit kills and five had 17 or more total attempts in the match as the Lions hit .284 for the contest. She dished out 43 assists, adding two kills, five digs and three blocks in the three-game win.
On Saturday night, Tortorello had the Hoosiers guessing as Indiana, the league-leader in blocking, managed only eight blocks and allowed the Nittany Lions to attack at a .393 clip. Three Penn State players recorded 12 or more kills and four hit better than .330 in the contest. Tortorello provided 46 assists, two aces, eight digs and two blocks.
For the weekend, Tortorello directed the Penn State offense that hit a combined .338 with 89 assists, an average of 14.83 assists per game. She also tallied three kills, two aces, 13 digs and five blocks. With her 89 assists for the weekend, Tortorello moves to 5,294 for her career, just 161 shy of claiming third on Penn State’s career assist list.
Penn State takes to the road for two critical Big Ten matches with Northwestern and No. 8 Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 7-8 in Evanston, Ill., and Madison, Wis., respectively. The Nittany Lions and Badgers are the only two undefeated schools in the Big Ten with perfect 4-0 records. Comcast SportsNet Chicago will broadcast the match on a tape-delay basis on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Penn State women’s volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.
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Defensive Player of the Week:
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Paula Gentil, Minnesota
SR, LIB, Forteleaza Ceara', Brazil/Lake Highland Prep
Gentil earns her first Player of the Week award of the year and the third of her career, as she averaged 6.67 digs per game in home wins against Michigan and Michigan State. The Golden Gopher senior also tallied an average of 0.67 assists per game in the two matches this past week.
On the weekend, Gentil posted 20 digs in each of the two three-game matches, while limiting Michigan (.140) and Michigan State (.082) to a combined .109 hitting percentage.
Last MINN POW: Kelly Bowman (10/25/04)
Earlier this year, Gentil and Tortorello were two of four unanimous picks for Preseason All-Big Ten. In addition, both student-athletes earned their third career selection to the team.
Senior setter earns third career conference weekly honor
University Park, Pa., Oct. 3, 2005 – Senior women’s volleyball setter Sam Tortorello (Shorewood, Ill.) was named the Big Ten Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week for the first time this season and the third time in her career, conference officials announced today.
Tortorello’s honor marks the 38th Big Ten Player of the Week accolade earned by a Penn State student-athlete since joining the conference for the 1991 season and makes her only the fourth Nittany Lion to pick up three or more weekly league honors. She joins Jen Reimers (Oct. 4 & 18, Nov. 1, 1993), Terri Zemaitis (Nov. 13, 1995; Sept. 16, 1996; Sept. 8 & Nov. 24, 1997) and Lauren Cacciamani (Sept. 15, 1997; Oct. 5 & Nov. 2, 1998; Sept. 20 & Nov. 1, 1999) as the only players to accomplish the feat.
It is also the fourth weekly honor for a Nittany Lion this season as senior Kaleena Walters (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) earned the first two Defensive Player of the Week honors in league history on Aug. 29 and Sept. 5 and freshman Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) picked up the honor last week, becoming Penn State’s first freshman ever to win the award.
Last weekend Tortorello led the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions to two Big Ten wins over No. 18 Ohio State and Indiana as Penn State remained one of only two undefeated squads in the league. In Columbus on Wednesday night, the senior kept the Buckeyes off-balance as three Penn State players reached double-digit kills and five had 17 or more total attempts in the match as the Lions hit .284 for the contest. She dished out 43 assists, adding two kills, five digs and three blocks in the three-game win.
On Saturday night, Tortorello had the Hoosiers guessing as Indiana, the league-leader in blocking, managed only eight blocks and allowed the Nittany Lions to attack at a .393 clip. Three Penn State players recorded 12 or more kills and four hit better than .330 in the contest. Tortorello provided 46 assists, two aces, eight digs and two blocks.
For the weekend, Tortorello directed the Penn State offense that hit a combined .338 with 89 assists, an average of 14.83 assists per game. She also tallied three kills, two aces, 13 digs and five blocks. With her 89 assists for the weekend, Tortorello moves to 5,294 for her career, just 161 shy of claiming third on Penn State’s career assist list.
Penn State takes to the road for two critical Big Ten matches with Northwestern and No. 8 Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 7-8 in Evanston, Ill., and Madison, Wis., respectively. The Nittany Lions and Badgers are the only two undefeated schools in the Big Ten with perfect 4-0 records. Comcast SportsNet Chicago will broadcast the match on a tape-delay basis on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Penn State women’s volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.
*************
Defensive Player of the Week:
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Paula Gentil, Minnesota
SR, LIB, Forteleaza Ceara', Brazil/Lake Highland Prep
Gentil earns her first Player of the Week award of the year and the third of her career, as she averaged 6.67 digs per game in home wins against Michigan and Michigan State. The Golden Gopher senior also tallied an average of 0.67 assists per game in the two matches this past week.
On the weekend, Gentil posted 20 digs in each of the two three-game matches, while limiting Michigan (.140) and Michigan State (.082) to a combined .109 hitting percentage.
Last MINN POW: Kelly Bowman (10/25/04)
Earlier this year, Gentil and Tortorello were two of four unanimous picks for Preseason All-Big Ten. In addition, both student-athletes earned their third career selection to the team.