Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/368554
Is seven really such a lucky number? Penn State certainly hopes so. After winning their sixth national cham- pionship last season, the Nittany Lions will be vying for yet another title in Russ Rose's 36th season at the helm. His fellow Division I coaches clearly believe this year's team is capable of accomplishing that goal. The Lions, who open their season Aug. 29 against TCU in the Penn State Classic, were ranked No. 1 in the preseason AVCA Division I Top 25, which was announced by the American Volleyball Coaches As- sociation on Aug. 11. They are one of seven Big Ten teams in the Top 25 – the most of any conference in the country – and one of four Big Ten squads in the top 10. Earning 32 of a possible 60 first-place votes, Penn State claimed the top spot ahead of No. 2 Texas (11), No. 3 Stanford (7), No. 4 Washington and No. 5 USC (2). The Big Ten is also well represented in the bottom half of the top 10 rankings, with Wisconsin, Nebraska and Purdue earning spots six through eight, consec- utively. BYU and Florida round out the last two positions at No. 9 and No. 10, re- spectively. During the upcoming regular season, Penn State will face 11 of the teams fea- tured in the preseason poll, including nine teams ranked in the Top 25 and two receiving votes. First up, the Nittany Lions meet third-ranked Stanford in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge on Sept. 5 in Palo Alto, Calif., before taking on UCLA the next evening. The Bruins received 23 votes. Penn State also meets No. 22 Kansas and No. 24 American in the Vil- lanova Classic, Sept. 12-13 at Villano- va. The Nittany Lions also have conference matchups against No. 11 Illinois, No. 12 Minnesota and No. 16 Michigan State. Michigan caps off the group of Big Ten teams represented in the preseason rank- ings, receiving 23 votes. Rose, a five-time AVCA DI National Coach of the Year, returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from the 2013 squad, as well as a highly regarded class of eight newcomers. Two-time first-team AVCA All-American Micha Hancock and AVCA honorable mention All-American Nia Grant highlight the class of top returners along with starters Megan Courtney and Dominique Gonzalez. ■ WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL Nittany Lions ranked No. 1 in coaches' poll FENCING Glon named PSU's head coach Wieslaw "Wes" Glon, the longtime aide who guided Penn State to a na- tional championship last season, was named head coach of the men's and women's fencing teams. Glon had been serving as interim coach follow- ing Emmanuil Kaidanov's dismissal last summer. "It is an honor to be named the head coach of the most successful fencing program in the country," Glon said in a prepared statement. "I will strive to continue the tradition of success and integrity that the Penn State fencing program is known for nationally. I look forward to the challenges ahead and to the opportunity to continue Penn State's legacy of success." Glon took the reins as interim head coach in August and went on to lead Penn State to its 13th national title, an NCAA record. He led the men's team to a 22-3 overall record, while the women compiled a 16-10 mark. At nationals, eight Nittany Lion fencers earned All-America honors, including sophomore Kaito Streets, who won the NCAA men's saber individual ti- tle. Following the season, Glon was named Coach of the Year by the Unit- ed States Fencing Coaches Associa- tion. A native of Poland, Glon won the country's highest honors in saber six times between 1975 and '81. He left Poland in 1981 and arrived in the United States two years later. His first coaching position in the U.S. was as an assistant at William & Mary Col- lege. Glon joined the Penn State fenc- ing program as an assistant coach in 1985.