News from the Post-2015 Season Banquet

I was able to attend the Post-2015 Season banquet on January 9th, and have finally posted a write-up on DigNittanyVolleyball.com.  Here's the link: News from the Post-2015 Season Banquet. 

Coach Rose noted that Penn State’s success has led to very high expectations, but that is to be expected, and is fair. He was candid (shocker) about the season — the team didn’t accomplish everything the players and coaches (and fans) had hoped for, but he also pointed out that the season wasn’t without its successes. Four players earned AVCA All-America honors — 6-3 So. MB Haleigh Washington (1st team), RS Sr. RS/MB Aiyana Whitney and 6-2 Sr. OH Megan Courtney (2nd Team), and 6-2 So. OH Ali Frantti (honorable mention.)

The team ended the season ranked #9 by the AVCA — not the goal for a team that was ranked #1 11 weeks during the season (more than any other team), but better than more than 300 other D1 teams. Rose pointed out that only three teams were ranked #1 during the season (Penn State, USC and Washington), and none of those teams made the Final Four. The eventual champion — Nebraska — was not ranked #1 until the final poll.

A highlight of the event was the announcement of the winners of the Coach's Award and the Pops Award.  The winner of the 2015 Coach's Award was 6-2 Sr. OH Megan Courtney. The winner of the 2015 Pops Award was 5-5 Sr. libero Kendall Pierce.  The post includes a short description of each of these prestigious awards, some career highlights for the two winners, and tables showing the winners of these awards from 2010 through 2015.