Penn State women’s volleyball earned plenty of recognition Wednesday when the Big Ten announced its postseason honors.

Junior libero Kendall White received Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year laurels, while right side Jonni Parker claimed the conference’s Freshman of the Year over a stacked field of candidates.

White and Parker were both named All-Big Ten first team selections. Parker obviously nabbed a spot on the freshman team alongside middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord, who also found herself on the second team with setter Bryanna Weiskircher.

It’s the second consecutive season White has earned an All-Big Ten nod. She’s the only returning All-American on Penn State’s roster and is already fifth in program history in career digs. Parker leads the team in kills with 311 heading into postseason play.

Redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Kristin Krause was Penn State’s sportsmanship award honoree. Minnesota’s Hugh McCutcheon was the unanimous selection for Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading his Golden Gophers to a conference championship. 

The Nittany Lions are among seven Big Ten teams that qualified for this year’s NCAA tournament. They will host Howard in the first round Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Rec Hall. Penn State and Stanford are the only programs to have made all 38 tournaments since 1981.

About the Author

Ethan Kasales

Ethan’s a senior journalism major who grew up in Lemont, a few minutes from campus. When he’s not covering Penn State sports, you can usually find him golfing or teaching snowboarding at Tussey Mountain. Feel free to email him at ethan@onwardstate.com.

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