University Park, Pa. — Senior Penn State women's volleyball player Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) has won the 2010 Honda Sports Award in volleyball, designating her as the nation's top collegiate female athlete in that sport. The honor was based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 34th year. This is the second year in a row that a Penn State University volleyball player has been honored with the award. Last year's winner was Penn State's Nicole Fawcett.
The Honda Sports Award is given annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, along with automatic nomination for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. Hodge was voted over three other nominees for the 2010 award, including teammate, senior Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.), California senior Hana Cutura and Destinee Hooker, a senior at the University of Texas and a Honda Sports Award nominee for the second straight year. All four nominees were selected by the AVCA All-American Selection Committee.
"I feel incredibly honored and blessed to have been chosen to receive the Honda Sports Award," said Hodge. "It was not only a privilege to be nominated along with three other amazing athletes, but also to join the many women who were selected in previous years. This caps off an amazing year, not only for me but also for the Penn State program."
Hodge was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands and grew up in Durham, NC. The outside hitter led her team to its third straight NCAA championship title in 2009, winning 102 straight matches. Her average of 4.67 kills per set (560 kills total) led the Big Ten and earned her an eighth place national ranking. She was chosen AVCA Division I National Player of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. A four-time AVCA First-Team All-American, Hodge was selected as the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2009 for second time, the first as a freshman in 2006. She is one of only two players ever to reach 2,000 career kills at Penn State, with 2,142 total, and she amassed a career win/loss record of 141-5 leading up to this year's National Title match. During Hodge's career, the Nittany Lions have made three-straight NCAA National Semifinal appearances and advanced to the championship match each time. Hodge's parents, Michael and Carmen, are both former members of the Virgin Islands National Volleyball team. Hodge was chosen as the 2009 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year and is a business management major.
The Honda Award is the third for a Nittany Lions women's volleyball player in program history. In addition to Fawcett, Hodge joins 1999 award winner Lauren Cacciamani. Hodge is also only the seventh Penn State female athlete to capture the honor. Along with Fawcett and Cacciamani, Penn State's other Broderick Award winners are Ann Carr (gymnastics, 1977, 1978), Kathy Mills Parker (cross country, 1977; cross country and track & field, 1978), Jeannie Fissinger (field hockey, 1980) and Candy Finn Rocha (field hockey, 1981; lacrosse, 1981, 1982)
Previously announced Honda Sports Award recipients include University of Illinois' Angela Bizzarri for cross country, Katie O'Donnell from the University of Maryland for Field Hockey and Whitney Engen from the University of North Carolina for soccer. Honda Award winners in basketball, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, softball, swimming & diving, tennis and track & field will be announced in the coming months. The Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year will be determined by separate balloting involving all NCAA-member institutions and the winner will receive the Honda-Broderick Cup in June 2010.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. sponsors the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program.