Oct. 5, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Daily doses of Big Ten volleyball can be found at the Big Ten Volleyball Blog: http://www.bigten.org/blog/volley_blog.html
FACES OF THE BIG TEN
Katie Dull, Ohio State
Jr., Solon, Ohio
Katie Dull is the go-to player this season for the Buckeyes. She leads the team in kills (3.92) and points (4.61) and is second in digs (2.27) per set. A three-year starter, Dull has given back to her local community by working with individuals in the dementia unit of the Light of Hearts Villa Retirement Community. An Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and an Academic All-Big Ten selection, Dull earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors last season and was an honorable mention AVCA Mideast All-Region selection.
Something's Gotta Give
Minnesota recorded road sweeps over Indiana and Purdue last weekend while Penn State downed Iowa and Wisconsin to remain the Big Ten's last two teams with undefeated conference records. The Golden Gophers and Nittany Lions will each have to get through Ohio State to stay undefeated when they face off against each other on Sunday in a match that will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
Hawkeyes Snap One Streak...
With a 26-24 win in the third set of Iowa's match at Penn State on Friday, the Hawkeyes snapped the Nittany Lions' streak of regular-season consecutive sets won at 141. The last team to take a single set from Penn State during a regular-season match was Michigan on Nov. 24, 2007. Last year, the Nittany Lions became the only program in NCAA Division I, II or III history to go an entire regular season without losing a set.
...Nittany Lions Continue Another
Despite dropping its first regular-season set in over a year, Penn State did extend its NCAA-record winning streak to 80 matches with wins against Iowa and Wisconsin over the weekend. The Nittany Lions have not lost a match since falling in a 3-2 decision to then-No. 2 Stanford on Sept. 15, 2007.
Big Ten Polling Place
The Big Ten is the only conference in the nation with three top-10 teams and two top-five teams in the latest AVCA Division I coaches poll. Penn State comes in at No. 1 for the 30th consecutive week, while Minnesota is up three spots from last week to No. 5, marking the program's highest ranking since Sept. 19, 2005. Michigan gives the Big Ten three top-10 teams for the sixth straight week, in at No. 8, while Illinois follows at No. 12 and Michigan State is up five spots from last week to No. 18. Indiana and Purdue are receiving votes outside the top 25.
Heavy Hitters
The Big Ten continues to lead the nation in hitting with seven of the NCAAA's top 20 individuals and five of the NCAA's top 20 teams in hitting percentage. Penn State is tops among teams with a .436 mark, which is over 100 points higher than the second-place team. PSU's Arielle Wilson leads all individuals (.575). Full rankings can be found on Page 3 of the release.
Full Coverage
Big Ten volleyball is enjoying vast coverage during the 2009 season with 23 matches broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network, ESPN2 and ESPNU. In addition, 21 more matches will be streamed on www.BigTenNetwork.com. The complete broadcast schedule can be found on Page 5 of this release.
Daily doses of Big Ten volleyball news can be found on the Big Ten Volleyball Blog, at http://www.bigten.org/blog/volley_blog.html. Keep track of Big Ten volleyball in real-time by logging on to Twitter and following @BigTenConf and @BigTenVal.
