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T H E M A I N E V E N T WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PENN STATE VS. STANFORD 6 : 3 0 P . M . | S E P T . 1 | C O L L E G E S T A T I O N , T E X A S | B T N Penn State and Stanford have met plenty of times over the years, owing to their sta- tus as two of collegiate volleyball's most successful programs. But the upcoming sea- son is unusual in that they'll be facing each other not once but twice during the nonconference season. The 8rst of those meetings will take place on opening night of the Texas A&M Tournament, and it is one of the more eagerly anticipated matches of the Nittany Lions' season. The Cardinal are coming o9 of a national championship, having topped Texas in the 2016 8nal to complete a 27-7 season that also included a sweep of Penn State in September. It was their seventh crown, tying them with the Nittany Lions for the most in NCAA history. With 8ve starters returning, including last season's AVCA Freshman of the Year, Kathryn Plummer, and fellow All-Ameri- cans Merete Lutz and Audriana Fitzmorris, they appear to have a very good chance of winning their eighth in December, even with new coach Kevin Hambly, formerly of Illinois, taking over. A:er falling short of the 8nal four the past two seasons, Penn State is looking to return to collegiate volleyball's main event. The defending champs should provide an excellent measuring stick – especially since they will meet Penn State again eight days later at the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge at Illinois. – M.H. SCORECARD FOOTBALL SEPTEMBER 2 AKRON....................................................... Noon (ABC) 9 PITT.....................................................3:30 p.m. (ABC) 16 GEORGIA STATE................................... 7:30 p.m. (BTN) 23 at Iowa..................................................................TBA 30 INDIANA................................................................ TBA OCTOBER 7 at Northwestern.................................................. Noon 21 MICHIGAN............................................................. TBA 28 at Ohio State........................................3:30 p.m. (FOX) NOVEMBER 4 at Michigan State...................................................TBA 11 RUTGERS............................................................ Noon 18 NEBRASKA............................................................ TBA 25 at Mar yland........................................................... TBA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL AUGUST 25-26 at West Virginia Tournament 25 Tennessee-Martin................................. 4:30 p.m. 26 Delaware.................................................10 a.m. West Virginia............................................. 7 p.m. SEPTEMBER 1-2 at Texas A&M Tournament 1 Stanford...............................................6:30 p.m. 2 at Texas A&M....................................... 6:30 p.m. 8-9 Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge at Illinois 8 Colorado.............................................. 4:30 p.m. 9 Stanford...............................................4:30 p.m. 15-16 Penn State Classic 15 YALE.................................................... 7:30 p.m. 16 WAKE FOREST......................................... 10 a.m. OHIO....................................................7:30 p.m. 22 NEBRASKA................................................... 7:30 p.m. 23 IOWA.................................................................7 p.m. 29 ILLINOIS....................................................... 7:30 p.m. 30 NORTHWESTERN................................................7 p.m. OCTOBER 6 at Ohio State......................................................... TBA 7 at Mar yland....................................................... 7 p.m. 13 MICHIGAN STATE...........................................7:30 p.m. 14 MICHIGAN......................................................... 7 p.m. 20 at Purdue........................................................... 7 p.m 21 at Indiana.......................................................... 7 p.m. 25 WISCONSIN.................................................. 7:30 p.m. 28 at Illinois........................................................... 7 p.m. NOVEMBER 1 at Michigan State...............................................7 p.m. 4 RUTGERS.......................................................... 7 p.m. 8 at Iowa..............................................................7 p.m. 11 MARYLAND........................................................ 7 p.m. 15 INDIANA....................................................... 7:30 p.m. ALL SPORTS PSU finishes eighth in Directors' Cup For the fourth time in the past 8ve years and 12th time overall, Penn State has earned a top-10 8nish in the Lear8eld Directors' Cup standings. The Nittany Lions placed No. 8 in the 8nal 2016-17 rankings, remaining one of only nine programs nation- wide to have 8nished in the top 25 in all 24 years of the Directors' Cup. Penn State's point total (1,046.75) was its fourth-highest in the history of the competition, and it resulted in a jump of 12 spots from last year's No. 20 8nish. This year marks the 12th time in the past 24 years that Penn State has posted a top-10 Directors' Cup 8nish. The only other span when the Nit- tany Lions had four top-10 placings in 8ve years came from 1998-99 through 2002-03. The Nittany Lions 8nished No. 7 in the fall 2016 rank- ings and No. 3 in the 8nal winter Di- rectors' Cup standings. Athletic director Sandy Barbour called Penn State's performance "a tribute to the students and to the coaches and support sta9 who are dedicated to creating conditions for their success. A top-10 8nish in the Directors' Cup is outstanding, and with more hard work and investment in student and program success, our drive is to compete for the top spot." Stanford won the 2016-17 Direc- tors' Cup with 1,517.50 points and was followed by Ohio State (1,343.75 points), Florida (1,252.50), USC (1,251.25), North Carolina (1,154), Michigan (1,133.25), Texas (1,067.75), Penn State (1,046.75), Oregon (1,027) and Kentucky (1,025). Points are awarded based on each institution's 8nish in up to 20 sports – 10 women's and 10 men's. The Big Ten was tied with the Pac-12 for 8rst among all conferences with three schools in the top 10. ■

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