Megan Hodge and the Shrimpshack Shooters, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Russ Rose

 

As we go on, we remember, all the times we, had together. As our lives change, come whatever, we will still be, friends forever. So ends the regular season careers for Megan Hodge and Alisha Glass (and Kelsey "Greatest Last Name for a Player on the Hottest Team of the Big Ten" Ream). So without further adieu, I give you the Year in Review, along with a look at the tournament. Oh, and pictures of hot chicks doing stuff. This week's Favorite Player Not Named Megan Hodge actually goes to all the seniors, which includes Megan Hodge, so maybe this week the award will be Favorite Player(s), Some of Which are Named Megan Hodge...

via www.avca.org

via www.leelanau.com

via grfx.cstv.com

 

 

 

 

The Season in Review
Coming off an undefeated National Championship year in 2008, expectations were high for The Team in 2009. And the ladies did not disappoint, finishing the regular season 32-0, only dropping 5 sets the entire year (5 more than last year's regular season, if you'll recall). Ranked #1 all year, The Team battled some tough teams along the way, but never really faltered, only going to a fifth set once, against a tough Michigan team that will be tough in the tournament. Some may criticize the schedule as soft (where have we heard that before?), but with 4 teams in the Top 16 at season's end, the Big Ten is one of the top conferences (probably second behind the Pac 10), so conference play was no slouch. Overall, The Team proved it can continue its winning ways.

 

The Stats
Here's where things get amazing:

Team Stats:

• Assists per Set - 6th in the country
• Blocks per Set - 2nd in the country
• Hitting Percentage - 1st in the country
• Kills per Set - 6th in the country
• Winning Percentage - only undefeated team in the country

Individual Stats (Players making the top 33 in a category):

• Aces per Set - Alyssa D'Errico (16th)
• Assists per Set - Alisha Glass (4th)
• Blocks per Set - Arielle Wilson (2nd), Fatima Balza (13th)
• Hitting Percentage - Arielle Wilson (1st), Megan Hodge (10th), Blair Brown (33rd)
• Kills per Set - Megan Hodge (8th)
• Points per Set - Megan Hodge (9th)

Those are the national stats; it gets even worse (for opposing teams) when only the Big Ten stats are examined. If you look at the Big Ten stats, certain names will stand out. And that is the main reason for...

The Awards
All Big Ten First Team - Megan Hodge, Arielle Wilson, Blair Brown, and Alisha Glass
(If you're keeping track at home, that's four PSU players on the First Team in a sport that fields six players)

Big Ten Coach of the Year - Russ Rose
"Rose earned his 11th overall and fifth consecutive Big Ten Coach of the Year award. He also picked up the honor in 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. He holds a career record of 995-159 in his 31 seasons for a nation-leading winning percentage of .862. Rose guided the Nittany Lions to their seventh straight and 13th overall Big Ten title in 2009 after finished the Big Ten slate undefeated at 20-0. He has captured 21 conference titles during his career, including eight straight Atlantic 10 title from 1983-1990. Penn State is currently in the midst of a 96-match winning streak. The Nittany Lions are one of just two teams to appear in every postseason event since its inception in 1981. Rose has also coached at least one All-American in 29 of his 30 seasons, including 19 conference players of the year in the last 25 years."

Big Ten Player of the Year - Megan Hodge
"Hodge is the 11th overall and fifth straight Nittany Lion to earn Player of the Year honors and is only the fifth player in league history to win the award more than once. In 2006, Hodge became the first Big Ten player to be named Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season. Hodge is also only the fifth Penn State player to pick up four First Team selections. Hodge, who was this week's Co-Big Ten Player of the Week, has a team-best 472 kills in 2009 and recently surpassed the 2,000 career kills milestone. She heads into the postseason with 2,054, which ranks second on PSU's all-time career kills list. She leads the squad and the Big Ten averaging 4.77 kills per set, good enough for eighth in the nation. The senior also ranks third in the league with a .399 hitting percentage and her 5.25 points per set is first in the Big Ten."

Big Ten Freshman of the Year - Darcy Dorton.
"Dorton became Penn State's eighth Freshman of the Year in program history and is the third Freshman of the Year on this year's squad, as Hodge earned the honor in 2006 and Wilson in 2007. A five-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Dorton is fourth on the team with 232 kills and 2.42 kills per set. She has also totaled 42 digs and 53 total blocks heading into NCAA postseason play"

Looking Forward - The Tournament
The Team earned a #1 seed and will play Friday night at Rec Hall against the mighty Binghamton Bearcats, winners of the America East Championship. If history is any guide, this should be a good match to watch, if you like floorboard crushing spikes, stop on a dime sets, and super sexy women in short shorts. Also, the Bearcats are a short team, making things that much more fun for Hodge, Wilson, Brown and the girls. Following this match is Army vs. Penn, also at Rec Hall. The winners of the two matches will meet Saturday night for a trip to the Sweet 16. I expect nothing less than a 6 set sweep over the weekend. Please try and attend if you are in State College.

Going forward, a couple things of note stand out. If The Team makes it to the Sweet 16, they could potentially face Florida, and the game would be played in Gainesville. Six Big Ten teams made the tournament (Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State). Penn State has gone through Cal and Stanford in each of the last two tournaments, and could play them back-to-back this year if the cards play out.

Conclusion
It's been a hell of a year for The Team. They dominated all opponents, dominated the Big Ten in conference play, and took home all the major awards given by the Big Ten. A long, fruitful run through the Tournament is expected. IF a national championship stays in-house, it will be the first ever threepeat in women's volleyball history, and the championship will be Russ Rose's 1001 win.

Finally, the team will say goodbye to the unbelievable tandem of Megan Hodge and Alisha Glass, and middle hitter Kelsey Ream. We wish them well as they go forward, Megan and Alisha undoubtedly to London in 2.5 years. However, as noted before, the team saw a boon of recruits coming in next year, including 5 scholarship players and 4 walk-ons. To show just how good this group is, the fourteenth best player in the country is Erica Denney, from Colorado. She is one of the walk-ons (but will receive a scholarship starting 2011). This is what you've won...

via www.frvbc.com

Stay tuned for updates as they happen during the Tournament. Also in the coming weeks will be a preview of the men's season, which officially kicks off January 7 in Hawaii. Lucky punk college kids.