Three Nittany Lions Selected To Preseason All-Big Ten Volleyball Team
Although its season hasn’t started yet, No. 9 Penn State women’s volleyball is already racking up accolades.
Three Nittany Lions — Jonni Parker, Kaitlyn Hord, and Serena Gray — received nominations to the conference’s preseason all-Big Ten team. Penn State’s three nominees are tied for the most in the conference alongside Wisconsin.
Hord and Parker, who both earned unanimous all-Big Ten selections in 2019, each landed on the preseason list for the second straight year, while Gray made her first appearance. The trio of juniors started every match and set for the team in 2019 and will undoubtedly lead a young Penn State team that lacks a true senior on its roster.
Parker led the team in kills (413), kills per set (3.53), points, (493), and aces (42). If that wasn’t enough, she also tallied 195 digs and 73 blocks. The unanimous 2019 first-team all-Big Ten selection also received an honorable mention to the AVCA’s All-America team.
Hord, meanwhile, led the team by hitting .440, which ranked No. 3 in the NCAA by the season’s end. She led the team with 149 blocks and posted 310 kills, averaging 2.65 per set. Hord’s impressive season earned her a spot on the AVCA All-America first team on top of several Big Ten honors.
Gray, Hord’s partner in the middle, certainly didn’t disappoint in 2019, either. She hit .382 over the season, ranking second on the team and No. 31 in the NCAA. Gray also posted 317 kills, 34 aces, and 92 blocks last fall. Her breakthrough sophomore season helped her become an honorable mention All-American.
Following an extended offseason, Penn State will finally hit the court this weekend with a road trip to No. 24 Michigan. The first of two matches in Ann Arbor will kick off at 6 p.m. on Friday, January 22.
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