| Matt Proper was one of five Nittany Lions to reach double digits in kills to lead Penn State to a victory over St. Francis. For more photos from Saturday's match, click here. |
Box Score
EIVA Championship Central
University Park, Pa., April 29, 2006 ?C Behind a balanced offense with five players in double-digit kills, the 11th-ranked Penn State men??s volleyball team swept Saint Francis (30-27, 30-21, 30-25) to claim the EIVA Championship title and advance to the National Collegiate Semifinals, slated for Thursday, May 4 at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions improve to 20-8 while the Red Flash end their season with a 17-10 record.
??First of all, I have to congratulate Saint Francis on the great season they had,?? said head coach Mark Pavlik. ??We did what we had to do and I thought we could take some chances tonight. We knew [Saint Francis middle hitter Marc] Honore was going to get his kills but we wanted to control everyone else. I thought we did that.??
Junior outside hitter Alex Gutor (Kiev, Ukraine) led five Penn State players in double-digit kills as he provided 12 on .526 hitting, just shy of his season-best mark. Senior middle hitter Nate Meerstein (Pittsburgh, Pa.) connected on 11 of his 14 swings with one error to hit .714 while senior opposite Matt Proper (Guys Mills, Pa.), senior outside hitter Kevin Wentzel (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and freshman middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) all produced 10 kills. As a team, Penn State outhit Saint Francis, .412 to .192.
Senior setter Dan O??Dell (Rochester, N.Y.) dished out 52 assists in the match and produced three kills and three digs. Junior libero Ryan Walthall (Irvine, Calif.) collected eight digs as Wentzel chipped in four.
Saint Francis won the blocking battle, 10.5 to 6.0. Holt and Meerstein each tallied three blocks for the Nittany Lions as O??Dell, Proper and Wentzel each collected two.
Marc Honore led the Red Flash with 12 kills on .579 hitting as Jim Fazzini posted nine kills. Shane Conley dished out 30 assists and Zach Nanni tallied four digs. Honore led the squad in blocking with six as Travis Fox collected four.
After the match, George Mason??s Shaun Powell, Saint Francis?? Honore and Fazzini and Penn State??s Holt, O??Dell and Proper were named to the All-EIVA Championship team. Meerstein was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship.
For more information on the Penn State men??s volleyball team, the EIVA Championship and the National Collegiate Championship, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.