Penn State Repeats as Best Overall Defensive Team for 2009

The Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU) is pleased to announce its selection of Penn State as the 2009 Overall Defensive Team of the Year.

The CVU Blocking Team of the Year, the Nittany Lions repeat as Overall Defensive Team of the Year after combining their stellar net play with solid digging at 13.11 per set and holding opponents to just .116 hitting on the season — third best in Division I.

Making the 2009 list of CVU's Top Five defensive teams are a couple of familiar schools from last season — Wichita State and North Dakota State. The Shockers ranked high in both blocking and digging efficiency while holding opponents to only .138 hitting. The Bison, meanwhile, again were one of the top digging teams while finishing eighth in opponents' percentage at .140.

Also finding a spot on the list is another team from the Roughrider State — the University of North Dakota. The Fighting Sioux held opponents to the lowest hitting percentage of any team in Division I at .115 while turning in blocking and digging efficiencies in the top 10 percent of all teams.

Rounding out the list is CVU Deep Digging Team of the Year Northern Iowa, which finished ninth in opponent hitting percentage thanks to its tough back row defense and respectable blocking.

Defensive Team of the Year

Penn State

Honorable Mentions

• North Dakota
• North Dakota State
• Northern Iowa
• Wichita State

To aid selection, team stats were used. Rather than strictly using blocks and digs per game, a formula was developed combining both categories and opponent hitting percentage. Further, a team's service receive errors and blocking were also included in the figures to come up with the final numbers.

For more information on the methods used, to provide input, or help develop these methods, please contact CVU here. Feedback is welcome.

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