While the Penn State wrestling program has enjoyed this success, there has been one team that has continued to be a thorn in the Nittany Lions' paw: the Iowa Hawkeyes. This season turned out to be different, however, as the Nittany Lions went into Carver-Hawkeye Arena and won for the first time under Sanderson, taking down the No. 3 Hawkeyes 24-12 in front of over 14,000 fans.
Heading into tonight's national championship match, Penn State had handily swept the Wisconsin Badgers twice in the regular season. Everybody expected another effortless victory for the Nittany Lions in what would be their sixth national title. Instead, Penn State found its hands full as the Badgers looked to be the better of the two teams for much of Saturday's match. Squandered opportunities by Wisconsin and a strong finish by the Nittany Lions led to a 3-1 match victory (25-19, 26-24, 20-25, 25-23) that brings yet another championship home to Happy Valley.
Seven-footer Jordan Dickerson, who had originally been slated to sit out the entire 2013-2014 season due to NCAA transfer rules, is now eligible play as soon as tomorrow against in the Nittany Lions' non-conference finale against Mount St. Mary's, a game that will also feature the Penn State debut of sophomore guard John Johnson, a transfer from Pitt.
Only one team stands in the way of Penn State as the women's volleyball team tries to earn its sixth national title: the Wisconsin Badgers. Here's what you need to know about the championship, taking place tonight at 9:30 p.m.
The top-ranked Penn State wrestling team will face No. 3 Iowa on the road at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena tonight. The match will be aired on the Big Ten Network at 9 p.m.
The No. 2 Penn State women's volleyball team looked to be struggling early against No. 3 Washington on Thursday night, struggling to contain the Huskies' two-setter offense. Coming off of an early Russ Rose timeout, the Nittany Lions went on a huge run off of Micha Hancock's serve midway through the first set and never looked back, dominating the Huskies behind a strong team effort. Penn State swept Washington (25-14, 25-13, 25-16) on its home turf at KeyArena in Seattle to earn a shot at the national championship on Saturday evening against Wisconsin.