Blue White Illustrated

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK Slay wins academic laurels EDITOR'S NOTE S enior women's volleyball standout Katie Slay recently was named the winner of the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America of the Year award, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The Raleigh, N.C., native was selected from a group of more than 40 student-athletes who earned academic all-district honors earlier this season. Slay is the fourth different Nittany Lion to garner the prestigious award and the first women's volleyball Academic All-America of the Year since Megan Hodge in 2009. Former SLAY Penn State standout Bonnie Bremner won the award in 1998 and '99, while Christa Harmotto was honored in 2008. "This is a tremendous honor for Katie and Penn State, as she is one of the leaders on our team who takes her academics and athletics very seriously, coach Russ Rose " said. "We are very proud to see her earn this recognition, as she represents the complete best in the term student-athlete. " A middle blocker, Slay helped Penn State to its 16th Big Ten title, picking up 2013 AVCA All-Northeast Region honors, as well as a unanimous spot on the All-Big Ten team. The 2011 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year was also a member of the 2012 All-Big Ten team and earned two consecutive AVCA second-team AllAmerica honors. Twice this season she was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, and she picked up one Big Ten Player of the Week accolade. Slay played a pivotal role in Penn State's return to the Final Four this season, posting a season-best 10 blocks and adding nine kills against Stanford in the final of the Lexington Regional on Dec. 14. She was a key player in the decisive fifth set, in which the Lions' powerful front row shut down the Cardinal and allowed PSU The Penn State women's volleyball team was preparing to face Washington in the NCAA semifinals when this edition of Blue White Illustrated went to press. Our next edition, which mails on Jan. 24, will include a wrap-up of the Nittany Lions' performance at the Final Four in Seattle. to overcome a 9-6 deficit and win the set 15-11. Before defeating Stanford, Penn State swept LIU Brooklyn and Utah in the tournament's first two rounds, then topped Michigan State, 3-1, in the regional semifinals. Heading into the team's matchup with Washington in the NCAA semifinals, she had amassed 243 kills on the year, posting a .403 hitting percentage to rank 21st nationally. Slay was also at the helm of the Nittany Lion blocking unit with 200 total blocks on the year. Off the court, Slay has been actively involved as a volunteer for the Special Olympics and the Penn State Dance Marathon since her sophomore season. Slay is majoring in communication sciences and disorders and minoring in human deI velopment and family studies. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL PSU picked to repeat as league champ Defending league champion Penn State has been picked as the preseason favorite in the 2014 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association preseason poll. The Nittany Lions received seven of eight first-place votes from the league's eight head coaches. Princeton was picked to finish second in the league, while Harvard and George Mason were slotted as the No. 3 and No. 4 schools, respectively. The Lions return five starters this year while also welcoming five freshmen to the roster. FENCING Penn State shines at Sacred Heart meet Penn State had an impressive day Dec. 8 at the Sacred Heart University Meet in Fairfield, Conn. The men's team walked away with wins against all five schools at the meet, defeating NYU, Sacred Heart, Vassar, Harvard and Princeton. The women's team managed three wins, defeating NYU, Sacred Heart and Vassar while falling to Harvard and Princeton. I

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