UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women’s volleyball team stayed at No. 3 in the week six American Volleyball Coaches Association poll that was released on Monday afternoon by the organizations front office.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a 2-0 weekend with back-to-back sweeps of Illinois and Northwestern. Penn State took down the Fighting Illini, 3-0; 25-19, 25-17, 26-24, and then turned around to beat Northwestern, 3-0; 26-24, 25-14, 25-14, on Saturday evening.
Penn State saw senior Simone Lee average 3.67 kills per set on the weekend, while fellow senior Haleigh Washington added 3.5 per set and 1.5 blocks.
As a team, the Nittany Lions hit .413 on the weekend while averaging 15.00 kills per set. Defensively, they held their opponents to .199 hitting, while adding 2.67 blocks per set.
The first RPI rankings of the 2017 season were released by the NCAA on Monday as well, and Penn State found itself in the No. 1 slot based on the team’s strength of schedule and their results so far this season.
Seven Big Ten teams are ranked in the most recent AVCA Coaches poll, with Penn State being the highest of them. Nebraska followed at No. 4, while Minnesota and Wisconsin came in at No. 7 and 8, respectively. Michigan State moved to No. 14, while Purdue came in at No. 18. Michigan rounded out the bunch with the No. 22 spot. Illinois and Ohio State are receiving votes.