Megan Hodge

Last updated
Megan Hodge
Megan Hodge3 Lodz 2010.jpg
Personal information
Born (1988-10-15) October 15, 1988 (age 36)
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Spike320 cm (130 in)
Block297 cm (117 in)
College / UniversityPennsylvania State University
Volleyball information
PositionOutside hitter
Current club Flag of Brazil.svg Minas Tênis Clube
Number11 (national team)
Career
YearsTeams
2006–2009
2010
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–2014
2015–2016
2016–2017
2020–
Flag of the United States.svg Penn State University
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Criollas de Caguas
Flag of Italy.svg MC-Carnaghi Villa Cortese
Flag of Poland.svg Atom Trefl Sopot
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Azerrail Baku
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Guangdong Evergrande
Flag of Italy.svg Imoco Volley Conegliano
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Henan
Flag of Brazil.svg Minas Tênis Clube
National team
2009–2015Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Medal record
Women's volleyball
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg United States
Olympic rings.svg
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2012 London Team
FIVB World Cup
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2011 Japan Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2015 Japan Team
FIVB World Grand Prix
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2010 Ningbo Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2011 Macau Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2012 Ningbo Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Omaha Team
Pan American Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2013 Lima Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Rosarito & Tijuana Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2011 Ciudad Juárez Team

Megan Hodge Easy (born October 15, 1988) is an American indoor volleyball player who won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with the US team and played for Pennsylvania State University's volleyball team. Following college, also played professionally in Puerto Rico, Italy, Poland, Azerbaijan, China, and Brazil. In 2023, Hodge returned to Penn State Volleyball as assistant coach. [1] In 2024, she helped lead the team to the NCAA women's volleyball championship, where it won its eighth national title in program history. [2]

Contents

Early life

Hodge was born in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1992 when Megan was 3 years old, her family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for educational reasons at UNC. They later then moved to Durham, North Carolina in 1999. Her parents, Michael and Carmen, are both former members of the U.S. Virgin Islands national volleyball team. Her mother, Carmen, played volleyball at George Washington University, and her father played at the University of the Virgin Islands.

Hodge began playing volleyball at age 12, and when she started, she could not stop. [3] She attended Riverside High School, where she was one of the most dominant young players in the nation. She posted a four-year total of 1,596 kills, 319 blocks, 647 digs, 286 aces and 130 assists. Hodge was the best girls' volleyball player in North Carolina history. [4]

She was a four-time Pac-6 all-conference selection and was the Pac-6 Player of the Year two times, including a unanimous selection in 2006. She participated on the USA Youth and Junior National Teams, where she was voted the Most Valuable Player and "Best Attacker" at the 2004 NORCECA Championships in Cataño, Puerto Rico.

Hodge played club volleyball for North Carolina's "Triangle Volleyball Club. She was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the North Carolina Regional Championships in 2004 in the 18's Gold age division, in 2005 for the 17's Platinum division and in 2006 for the 18's Platinum division. She became the first ever player from the Carolina region to be named to the all-Tournament team at the USA Junior Olympic Girls' Volleyball Championships.

After being named the North Carolina Volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior and senior, she was named the 2006 Gatorade National Player of the Year for volleyball. Hodge was considered the top high school recruit for the class of 2006 and got over 150 scholarship offers from various universities, such as volleyball powerhouses Stanford, USC, Washington, and Long Beach State. [5] She, along with two other top 10 high school recruits, led Penn State to the consensus number 1 recruiting class ranking for the Class of 2006. [6]

Penn State

Hodge is a 6'3" (1.91 m) outside hitter, and she can jump and touch 10 feet 8 inches (3.25 m). [7]

Penn State career highlights include scoring the championship winning kill in the 2007 NCAA championship over Stanford, [8] and the championship kill in the 2009 championship against Texas and being named the Big Ten Player of the Year as a freshman, the first freshman to accomplish the feat.

Hodge is a four-time First Team All-American, and was named the NCAA national championship Most Outstanding Player in 2007 and 2008.

2006 (Freshman)

In her first season, she led the Big Ten and the team in points per game (5.57) and kills per game (4.83), and was also second on the team in service aces (39) and digs (303). Her 551 kills ranks sixth on the Penn State single-season record chart and is the highest for the rally-scoring era, and she also became only the seventh Nittany Lion player to tally over 500 kills in a single season. She posted a career high 27 kills in the comeback win over Texas on September 8. [9] She tied the school record for kills in a three-game match with 25 in the sweep of Northwestern. She had a career high 20 digs against Michigan, and also had 11 double-double matches on the year.

She made Big Ten history by becoming the first freshman to be named Player of the Year in the then-23 year history of the award. [10] [11] She also became the first ever Big Ten volleyball player to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year and AVCA National Freshman of the Year in consecutive seasons. She became just the third true freshman in seven years to be named a First Team All-American.

2007 (Sophomore)

Hodge recorded 4.60 kills per game and had 561 kills on the year. She was the only player to play in all 122 games of the season. Hodge was also tied for second on the team for service aces (35), and also had 310 digs, good for second on the team. Hodge also had a 96% service reception clip, as she recorded only 33 service reception errors in 833 attempts. She finished the season leading the team in total points, as she was responsible for 644.5 total points and 5.28 points per game. She helped Penn State to a 20–0 Big Ten record and their record fifth consecutive conference title.

In the 2007 NCAA Tournament, she led Penn State to their first NCAA final four appearance since their last NCAA title in 1999. She saved one of her best performances for their 3–2 win over top-seeded Stanford in the national championship, as she recorded a season-high 26 kills and had a key serving string in the decisive fifth game win, serving 6 straight points. [12] Her performance in this match led her to be named the NCAA championship Most Outstanding Player, joining former Penn State players Terri Zemaitis (1997) and Lauren Cacciamani (1998 & 1999) to be named the Championship MOP. In addition, Hodge was also named a First Team All-American for the second consecutive year and was a Honda Sports Award nominee for the top volleyball player in the country.

2008 (Junior)

As a junior, Hodge led a team consisting of six All-Americans with 470 total kills on the year on a .349 hitting percentage. She led the team in kills 21 times and ended 2008 fifth all-time on Penn State's career kill list with 1,582. Hodge was also named an ESPN The Magazine First Team All-American.

In Big Ten play, Hodge had 246 total kills and averaged 4.10 kills per set, en route to being named a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection for the third consecutive year. Penn State went 20–0 in the Big Ten and didn't lose a single set.

In the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Hodge was named the NCAA University Park Regional Most Outstanding Player after having a combined 28 kills with just 4 errors against regional opponents Western Michigan and California. In the NCAA National Semifinals in Omaha, Hodge had a season high 23 kills against Nebraska in the five set win. The following night, Hodge was named an AVCA First Team All-American for the third consecutive year.

In the National Title match against Stanford, Hodge had a match high 16 kills with just 2 errors and added 14 digs and 2 blocks to lead the Lions to their second consecutive NCAA championship, capping off an undefeated year. She was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive year, becoming only the third player in NCAA Tournament history to earn the award two times. [13]

2009 (Senior)

Her senior year, Hodge's 560 kills helped to once again lead the Penn State Nittany Lions to an NCAA championship. She was named a First Team All-American for the fourth time in a row.

Hodge was also named Big Ten Player of the Year for the second time.

In the National Title match against Texas, the Nittany Lions went down two sets to none but under Hodge's leadership Penn State was able to come back and win it. Hodge tallied 21 kills in the five-set match, one of which came on the final point of the match.

In 2010, she also won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top female collegiate volleyball player, and went on to be one of the co-winners of the Honda-Broderick Cup, awarded to the nation's top female collegiate athlete. [14] [15]

Career outside US

In November 2010 she joined Carnaghi Villa Cortese a volleyball team that plays in Italian Serie A1. [16]

Hodge played at the 2013 Club World Championship with Guangdong Evergrande winning the bronze medal after defeating 3–1 to Voléro Zürich. [17]

2012- 2013

Hodge competed for Team USA in the 2012 Grand Prix winning the gold medal and the Most Valuable Player and Best Scorer awards. [18] She later won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In the Pan-American Cup, Hodge won the Best Spiker award and the gold medal. [19]

College career statistics

SeasonGP/MPKillsK/GameErrorsTotal AttemptsPercentageAssistsService AcesDigsSolo BlocksBlock AssistsTotal BlocksPoints
2006114/355514.832131253.2703239303136477635
2007122/365614.601821278.297403531097988644.5
2008115/384704.09126985.349332024284149518.5
2009120/385604.671161197.371401329557883617
Total471/14721424.556374713.3221451071150352622972415

Awards

College

  • Four-time First Team AVCA All-American (2006–09)
  • Four-time unanimous First Team All-Big Ten (2006–09)
  • Four-time First Team AVCA All-Mideast Region (2006–09)
  • 2010 Honda-Broderick Cup [20] [21]
  • 2010 Honda Sports Award winner in Volleyball
  • 2009 Honda Sports Award nominee
  • 2009 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team
  • 2009 Big Ten Player of the Year
  • 2009 Academic All-American of the Year
  • 2009 Gainesville Regional Most Outstanding Player
  • 2008 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player
  • 2008 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team
  • 2008 NCAA University Park Regional Most Outstanding Player
  • 2008 Volleyball Magazine First Team All-American
  • 2008 Big Ten Player of the Week (12/1)
  • 2008 CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-American
  • 2008 Academic All-Big Ten
  • 2008 Chicago Classic All-Tournament Team
  • 2008 Hawaiian Airlines Classic All-Tournament Team
  • 2008 Unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten
  • 2007 Volleyball Magazine First Team All-American
  • 2007 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player
  • 2007 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team
  • 2007 Honda Sports Award nominee
  • 2007 Penn State Golden Volleyball for reaching 1,000 kills
  • 2007 Penn State Female Student Athlete of the Week (9/10, 12/19)
  • 2007 Academic All-Big Ten
  • 2007 AVCA National Player of the Week (9/10)
  • 2007 Big Ten Player of the Week (9/10)
  • 2007 Penn State Classic Most Valuable Player
  • 2007 Yale Classic All-Tournament Team
  • 2007 Unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten
  • 2006 AVCA National Freshman of the Year
  • 2006 AVCA Mideast Region Freshman of the Year
  • 2006 Volleyball Magazine First Team All-American
  • 2006 Volleyball Magazine National Freshman of the Year
  • 2006 Big Ten Player of the Year
  • 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
  • 2006 Big Ten All-Freshman Team
  • 2006 NCAA Seattle Regional All-Tournament Team
  • 2006 LSU Classic All-Tournament Team
  • 2006 Penn State Invitational All-Tournament Team
  • 2006 Texas Invitational All-Tournament Team
  • 2006 Big Ten Player of the Week (9/25, 10/23, 11/27)

High school

National Team

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan Tom</span> American volleyball player

Logan Maile Lei Tom is an American former indoor volleyball and beach volleyball player, and is the current head coach of the Israel women's national volleyball team. She is a four-time Olympian at the outside hitter position. At age 19, Logan became the youngest woman ever to be selected for an American Olympic volleyball team when she competed at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. She was a skilled all-around player who brought stability to the American serve receive and defense, while also providing the team with a solid attack and block at the net. She was a huge part of the national team from 2000 to 2012. At the 2008 Olympics, Tom helped Team USA win a silver medal and was named Best Scorer, she won another silver medal at the 2012 Olympics with the national team. She was also awarded the Most Valuable Player of the 2004 FIVB World Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogonna Nnamani</span> American volleyball player

Ogonna Nneka Nnamani is a physician, retired American indoor volleyball player, and former member of the United States National and Olympic teams. She was awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup in 2004 as the nation's top female athlete across all NCAA sports and is regarded as one of the best players in Stanford University's history with a career record of 2,450 kills, for which she entered the Stanford Hall of Fame in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foluke Gunderson</span> Canadian-American-Nigerian indoor volleyball player (born 1987)

Foluke Atinuke Gunderson is an indoor volleyball player who plays as a middle blocker for Japanese club Hisamitsu Springs. Born in Canada, she represents the United States internationally. Gunderson won gold with the national team at the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix, 2014 World Championship, the Rimini Volleyball Nations League, and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, silver at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Her 2020 Olympics win allowed her to complete the trifecta of winning an Olympic bronze, silver, and gold medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russ Rose</span> American volleyball player and coach

Russell David Rose is an American former volleyball coach who was the women's volleyball coach at Penn State University from 1979 to 2021. His lifetime head coaching record is 1330–229, which ranks first in NCAA Division I history. He has the most wins and highest winning percentage of any Penn State intercollegiate athletic coach in Penn State history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball</span> Womens volleyball team of the University of Nebraska

The Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten. Nebraska plays its home games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center and has sold out every home match since 2001. The team has been coached by John Cook since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynthia Barboza</span> American volleyball player (born 1987)

Cynthia Jane Barboza is an American retired volleyball player. She is an outside hitter who played at Stanford University for four years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament</span> Collegiate volleyball championship

The 2007 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament began on November 29, 2007, with 64 teams and concluded on December 15, 2007, when Penn State defeated Stanford 3 games to 2 in Sacramento, California for the program's second NCAA title.

The Penn State Nittany Lions women's volleyball program has had a long tradition, founded in 1976 by Tom Tait, long-time coach of the Penn State men's team, who coached the women's team from 1976 to 1979 and was named a USA Volleyball All-Time great coach in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christa Harmotto</span> American volleyball player (born 1986)

Christa Deanne Harmotto Dietzen is an American former professional volleyball player who played as a middle blocker for the United States women's national volleyball team. She played college volleyball for the Penn State women's volleyball team, and won back to back national championships in 2007 and 2008. Harmotto won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship, silver at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicole Fawcett</span> American volleyball player

Nicole Marie Fawcett is an American indoor volleyball player who won the 2014 World Championship and 2015 Pan American Games gold medal with the United States national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Longhorns women's volleyball</span> Womens volleyball team of the University of Texas

The Texas Longhorns women's volleyball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's volleyball competition. The Longhorns competed in the Big 12 Conference through the 2023 season and moved to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on July 1, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Destinee Hooker</span> American volleyball player (born 1987)

Destinee Dante Hooker is an American indoor volleyball player. She is a 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) opposite attacker. Hooker was a member of the United States women's national volleyball team. She starred in both volleyball and track and field at the University of Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alisha Glass</span> American volleyball player (born 1988)

Alisha Rebecca Glass Childress is an American professional volleyball player who plays as a setter for the Vegas Thrill of the Pro Volleyball Federation. Glass played collegiate volleyball for Penn State, where she led Penn State to three NCAA consecutive championships. Glass won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship, and bronze at the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Larson</span> American volleyball player (born 1986)

Jordan Quinn Larson is an American professional volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter for the United States women's national volleyball team. A four-time Olympian, Larson earned the USA its first-ever gold in women's volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She also has two silver medals from the 2012 and 2024 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The Stanford Cardinal women's volleyball team represents Stanford University in the Pac-12 Conference. They are currently led by head coach Kevin Hambly and play their home games at Maples Pavilion. The team has won nine NCAA national championships, the most of all time, and 24 regular season conference titles. They have finished as national runner-up eight times and appeared in the first 39 NCAA tournaments, failing to qualify for the postseason for the first time during the 2020–21 season. In January 2017, John Dunning retired as head coach of Stanford volleyball. The school named Kevin Hambly as the new head coach. Hambly came from the University of Illinois and 2017 was his first season with the Cardinal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micha Hancock</span> American volleyball player

Micha Danielle Hancock is an American indoor volleyball player for the United States women's national volleyball team. Hancock played setter for the Penn State women's volleyball team, and won back-to-back national championships in 2013 and 2014. Hancock won gold with the national team at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megan Courtney</span> American volleyball player

Megan Eileen Courtney-Lush is an American indoor professional volleyball player for the Columbus Fury of the Pro Volleyball Federation and the United States women's national volleyball team. Courtney played outside hitter for the Penn State women's volleyball team, and won back to back national championships in 2013 and 2014. With the USA national team, she played at the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix. She was named the best libero at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League. Courtney was also selected as an alternate to the 2020 USA Olympic Team but did not travel to Tokyo.

Lauren Cacciamani is a former volleyball player for Penn State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haleigh Washington</span> American volleyball player (born 1995)

Haleigh Meridian Washington is an American volleyball player of the United States women's national volleyball team. Washington was an All-American middle blocker for the Penn State women's volleyball team, where she helped lead the team to the 2014 NCAA national championship. Washington won gold with the national team at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Jessica Ann Mruzik is an American volleyball player. She played college volleyball for the Michigan Wolverines and the Penn State Nittany Lions, which she led to the 2024 national championship. She was named first-team All-Big Ten four times and first-team AVCA All-American in her championship season.

References

  1. https://gopsusports.com/sports/womens-volleyball/roster/season/2023/staff/megan-hodge-easy
  2. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6013794/2024/12/22/penn-state-louisville-ncaa-volleyball-championship/
  3. Libes, Stephanie (2007-11-27). "Success With Honor: Megan Hodge". Penn State Athletics. Archived from the original on 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  4. Soriano, Paul (2006-01-26). "Megan Hodge named Gatorade National Player of the Year". ESports Media Group, Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  5. Potter, Michael (2007-02-07). "V.I. native named nation's top young volleyball player". Virgin Islands Daily News. Retrieved 2008-07-07.[ dead link ]
  6. Krider, Dave (2006-06-28). "Hodge fronts Penn State's recruiting haul". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  7. Brolley, Tom (2007-12-06). "California Dreamin'". The Daily Collegian. Archived from the original on 2007-12-09. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  8. "Hodge's kill finishes off Stanford for Penn State's 2nd NCAA title". ESPN. 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  9. "No. 2 women's volleyball hooks No. 7 Texas, 3–2". Archived from the original on 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  10. Corey McLaughlin, The Daily Collegian. Hodge is Big Ten Player of the Year Archived 2007-06-21 at archive.today
  11. "Hodge makes Big Ten history". Penn State Athletics. 2006-11-28. Archived from the original on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  12. "Penn State defeats Stanford in five to win NCAA championship". Sacramento State Athletics. 2007-12-15. Archived from the original on 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  13. AP (2008-12-20). "Penn State defends NCAA volleyball title, sweeps Stanford". USA Today . Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  14. "Hodge named co-winner of Honda-Broderick Cup | Penn State University". news.psu.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  15. "Past Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Winners (Honda Cup)". CWSA. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  16. From Carnaghi Volleyball official website
  17. "Guangdong beat Zurich 3-1 to claim Women's Club World Champs bronze". Zurich, Switzerland: FIVB. 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  18. FIVB. "USA complete World Grand Prix title hat-trick" . Retrieved 2012-07-02.
  19. "USA retains the throne in Pan American Cup". Lima, Peru: FIVB. 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  20. Myers, Laura (21 June 2010). "Connecticut's Maya Moore, Penn State's Megan Hodge share college athlete-of-the-year award". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  21. "Moore Named Co-Winner Of 2010 Honda-Broderick Cup". University of Connecticut. 21 June 2010. Archived from the original on 25 June 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
Awards
Preceded by Most Valuable Player of
FIVB World Grand Prix

2012
Succeeded by