Women’s Volleyball Opens NCAA Tournament on Thursday

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State, the No. 13 seed, opens the 2020-21 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament with a Second Round match against the winner between Rice and North Carolina A&T on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. (ET).
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Thursday, April 15 | 10:30 p.m. (ET)
Watch 

OPENING NOTES
• Penn State opens its 40th-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament with a Second Round match against the winner of Rice and North Carolina A&T.
• The Lions are the only team to compete in all 40 NCAA Division I NCAA Tournaments.
• All 40 NCAA Tournament appearances by Penn State have come with Russ Rose as head coach.
• Penn State will not open the NCAA Tournament at Rec Hall for the first time since 1989.
 
SCOUTING RICE
• Rice is 16-5 overall and went a perfect 12-0 in the Conference USA. The Owls went on to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after losing 3-1 to Western Kentucky in the championship match of the C-USA Tournament. They were ranked No. 24 in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll.
• The Owls had a strong close to the end of the regular season, falling to then-No. 6 Baylor in five sets before taking out then-No. 2 Texas in five sets the following match.
• Rice is making its third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Owls advanced to the Second Round last year with a win over Oklahoma in the opening round.
• Senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon was voted the Conference USA Player of the Year this season, while junior Carly Graham was the Setter of the Year.
• Junior middle blocker Anota Adekunle ranks fifth in the nation in hitting percentage (.463) while averaging 2.75 kills/set.
 
SERIES HISTORY – RICE
• Penn State is 3-0 in the all-time series with Rice, posting wins in 1985, 2003 and 2006.
• All three wins came at neutral sites.
• The Lions are 9-0 in sets against the Owls.
 
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA A&T
• North Carolina A&T went 11-1 overall and a perfect 8-0 in the MEAC during the regular season.
• The Aggies went on to capture the MEAC Tournament title with wins over Delaware State and Coppin State. They are on an 11-match winning streak.
• North Carolina A&T’s conference title comes in its final season in the MEAC. The Aggies are set to join the Big South.

SERIES HISTORY – NORTH CAROLINA A&T
• Penn State has never played North Carolina A&T.

LEADER IN NCAA TOURNAMENT WINS
• Russ Rose leads all head coaches with 104 wins in the NCAA Division I Tournament. He reached the century mark with a 3-0 win over Syracuse in the 2018 NCAA Second Round. four more wins since then, the most recent coming over Cincinnati in the 2019 NCAA Regional Semifinal.

COACHING STAFF WINS TITLES
• Penn State is  the only team in Division I in which the entire coaching staff has won a DI women’s national title either as a player or coach.
• Russ Rose has won seven national titles as head coach of Penn State.
• Dennis Hohenshelt has won four national titles as an assistant coach at Penn State.
• Katie Schumacher-Cawley won a national title as a player for the Lions in 1999.

WEEKLY AWARDS
Big Ten Setter of the Week (1) – Gabby Blossom (3/15)
Penn State Student-Athlete of the Week (1) – Gabby Blossom (3/17)
 
BIG TEN LEADS WAY IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
• Six Big Ten teams appeared in the top 12 of the most recent AVCA national rankings — No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 3 Minnesota, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 9 Purdue and No. 12 Penn State.

UP NEXT
• If Penn State wins, the Lions would play in the Regional Semifinal on Sunday, April 18.