STATE COLLEGE, Pa., May 9, 2002 - The Penn State women's volleyball team will play two new opponents and square off against old foes during the 2002 season. The Lions, who open up at home against Rutgers on Aug. 30, are a combined 271-52 all-time against opponents they will face this year, a winning percentage of .839.

"With a number of new players coming into the program, we feel it is important to get them more opportunities to play together," said head coach Russ Rose, who will be beginning his 24th season at the helm of the Nittany Lion program. "The experience that is garnered by playing in the Big Ten can't be duplicated in the early season, but we have four weeks to integrate the younger players and have them play at a level they feel comfortable at. It is the Big Ten portion of our schedule that catches the most attention."

Penn State will face new foes in Quinniapiac (Aug. 31) and Seton Hall (Sept. 7) during early season tournaments. The Lions will host the Penn State Invitational on August 30-31 and the Penn State Classic on Sept. 13-14 while traveling to a tournament at Fairfield University on Sept. 6-7 and taking part in the American Classic in Washington D.C. on Sept. 20-21. A preseason matchup to watch for will be versus perennial power Florida on Sept. 20 at the American Classic. The Lions hold a 5-1 advantage over the Gators, with the last meeting a four-game win at Florida. Penn State is a combined 52-10 against its preseason opponents.

The Lions open Big Ten play at home the weekend of Sept. 27-28 when they host Indiana and Ohio State at Rec Hall. From there, Penn State alternates between road and home play until two consecutive away weekends at the end of November. The Lions are an impressive 220-42 all-time against Big Ten foes. Splitting matches last season, conference power Wisconsin comes to Happy Valley on Oct. 26 with the Lions visiting Madison on Nov. 22. Other key conference matchups are contests with Michigan and Michigan State (Oct. 11-12 home, Nov. 1-2 away) and Illinois (Oct. 4 away, Nov. 9 home) who all split matches with Penn State last season.

The Nittany Lions return 10 letterwinners from last season's 22-8 squad who fell to UCLA in three games in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the 21st-consecutive tournament appearance for Penn State under Rose, who is the winningest active coach in Division I history (743-135/.846). Senior outside hitter Mishka Levy (Houston, Texas) heads the returning core of players. Levy sits 13th on the all-time career kill chart (1,058) and was the lone Lion to be named Big Ten Player of the Week last season (Oct. 29).

Along with Levy, senior libero Hilary Sexton (Crystal Lake, Ill.), junior middle hitter Cara Smith (Lafayette, Ind.), sophomore outside hitter Ashley Pederson (Sioux Falls, S.D.), junior setter Jess Hayden (South Laguna Beach, Calif.) and sophomore backrow specialists Tabitha Eshleman (Greencastle, Pa.), Emily Gerega (Freedom, Pa.) and Zulma Rojas (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) look to make an impact for Penn State. Returning to the lineup is junior Robyn Guokas (Burr Ridge, Ill.) who was redshirted last season. With a strong incoming freshman class including setters Sam Tortorello (Joliet, Ill.) and Emily Guman (Allentown, Pa.), outside hitters Amy Morris (Michigan City, Mich.) and Kaleena Walters (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) and middle hitter Kim Holm (St. Charles, Ill.), the Lions look to rise back to the top of the Big Ten conference and continue their success in the NCAA Tournament.

 2002 Penn State Women's Volleyball Schedule August 30-31 - hosts Penn State Invitational 30 RUTGERS University Park, Pa. 7:30 p.m. 31 QUINNIPIAC University Park, Pa. 10:00 a.m. 31 AKRON University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. September 6-7 - at Fairfield Tournament 6 vs. New Hampshire Fairfield, Conn. 3:30 p.m. 7 vs. Seton Hall Fairfield, Conn. 9:30 a.m. 7 at Fairfield Fairfield, Conn. 7:00 p.m. 13-14 - hosts Penn State Classic 13 Villanova University Park, Pa. 7:30 p.m. 14 Morgan State University Park, Pa. 10:00 a.m. 14 ARMY University Park, Pa. 3:00 p.m. 20-21 - at American Classic 20 vs. Florida Washington, D.C. 4:30 p.m. 21 vs. American/Yale Washington, D.C. 4:30/7:00 p.m. 27 Indiana* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. 28 Ohio State* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. October 4 at Illinois* Champaign, Ill. 6:00 p.m. 5 at Purdue* West Lafayette, Ind. 6:00 p.m. 11 Michigan* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. 12 MICHIGAN STATE* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. 18 at Iowa* Iowa City, Iowa 6:00 p.m. 19 at Minnesota* Minneapolis, Minn. 6:00 p.m. 25 NORTHWESTERN* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. 26 WISCONSIN* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. November 1 at Michigan State* East Lansing, Mich. 8:00 p.m. 2 at Michigan* Ann Arbor, Mich. 7:00 p.m. 8 PURDUE* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. 9 ILLINOIS* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. 15 at Ohio State* Columbus, Ohio 7:00 p.m. 16 at Indiana* Bloomington, Ind. 7:00 p.m. 22 at Wisconsin* Madison, Wis. 6:00 p.m. 23 at Northwestern* Evanston, Ill. 6:00 p.m. 29 MINNESOTA* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. 30 IOWA* University Park, Pa. 7:00 p.m. All times Eastern. * indicates Big Ten match. --LIONS--