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The football team isn’t the only Penn State sports program racking up postseason honors this week. For just the third time in Big Ten Women’s Volleyball history, the Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year are on the same team. Seniors Simone Lee and Haleigh Washington won the awards en route to a 29-1 overall record for the Nittany Lions.
December will be a rough month for Penn State wrestling fans, with just two duals taking place. It will be highlighted by a top-5 match-up against Lehigh this coming Sunday in Allentown, prior to a two-week break before taking on Indiana on December 17th in Rec Hall. While it’s no fun for the fans, it’s a greater challenge for the team, which must stay focused on academics and athletics during long stretches between duals.
Penn State Men’s Basketball is trending up, which means that opposing teams and fanbases aren’t so quick to overlook the Nittany Lions when they see them on their schedule (just check the Backing the Pack comments if you don’t believe me). Backing the Pack has a preview of tonight’s contest between Penn State and NC State, commenting on the benefits of the continuity of Penn State’s starting rotation between this year and last.
Pat Chambers isn’t satisfied yet, despite the team being 6-1, off to their best start since 2010-11. In this week’s press conference, Chambers stressed doing the simple things right. Happy with the production from Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens, Pat Chambers understands that other players will need to get involved for the team to reach their full potential. It’s clear listening to Chambers that goal this year isn’t to be good enough to grab an at-large big, the goal is to become a team that is capable of beating any other team in the country.
The Joe Moorhead era is over, and lists of his potential replacement as offensive coordinator abound. One name that has recently picked up steam after a James Franklin follow on Twitter is Arizona State OC, Billy Napier. The Sun Devils recently fired Todd Graham as their HC, but have expressed interest in keeping Napier around.