Feb. 4, 2009
University Park, Pa. -
The top-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (7-0, 3-0 EIVA) travels to Springfield (4-2, 0-2 EIVA) on Saturday, Feb. 7 for a 7:00 p.m. contest with the Pride. Live scoring will be available via a link at www.GoPSUsports.com.
Previewing Penn State
The Nittany Lions come into Saturday's match with an overall 7-0 record and a 3-0 mark in the EIVA after sweeping Juniata, Saint Francis and Springfield last week. Junior outside hitter Will Price and senior opposite Ryan Sweitzer lead the squad with 3.96 and 3.88 kills per game, respectively, as junior middle hitter Max Lipsitz chips in 2.79 kills per game on .477 hitting. Redshirt freshman setter Edgardo Goas directs the offense with 12.44 assists per game as sophomore libero Dennis Del Valle tops the defense with 3.00 digs per game. Lipsitz and senior middle hitter Max Holt head the blocking list with 1.17 and 0.88 blocks per game, respectively. As a team, Penn State is hitting .367 with 15.24 kills per game, 2.24 service aces per game, 9.04 digs per game and 2.50 blocks per game.
The Series: Penn State vs. Springfield
Penn State leads Springfield, 27-0, in a series that began in 1977. The last meeting was a three-game Nittany Lion win (30-28, 30-22, 30-28) on Jan. 31, 2009 at Rec Hall.
Serving Up A Storm
Penn State has been dominant from behind the service line in 2009, posting three double-digit team ace matches and six matches of five or more team aces. The Nittany Lions recorded 12 aces in the season-opener against Southern California (1/8), eight against Ohio State (1/9), six at Hawaii (1/10), 10 versus Ball State (1/23), 10 against Juniata (1/28) and six at Saint Francis (1/30). As a team, Penn State has 56 team service aces for the season (2.24 sapg) while allowing its opponents only 16.
You've Been Served
With his 11 aces at the Outrigger Invitational, senior middle hitter Max Holt moved into first place on the all-time career service aces chart. Holt blasted a new rally-scoring-era school record seven aces in the season-opener against Southern California on Jan. 8, and then broke his own record as he fired eight in two games against Juniata on Jan. 28. The mark of eight falls just shy of the all-time school record of nine aces, set by John Wasielewski in 1990 during the traditional scoring era. Holt has 25 aces during 2009, which is nearly halfway to the single-season school record of 55, which he set in 2007.
Digging Del Valle
Sophomore libero Dennis Del Valle, last year named an AVCA Second Team All-American, is again defensively leading the team. Del Valle is averaging 3.00 digs per game for the season and has double-digit dig numbers in five of seven matches this season, including 11 against Southern California (1/8), 10 against Ohio State (1/9), 10 at Hawaii (1/10), 14 against Ball State (1/23) and 14 against Springfield (1/31).
Raising The Banner
The Nittany Lions captured the 2008 NCAA National Championship title last May in Irvine, Calif., defeating Ohio State in the NCAA National Semifinals (30-21, 26-30, 30-22, 30-17) before advancing on to beat second-ranked Pepperdine in four games (27-30, 33-31, 30-25, 30-23) for the championship. Penn State will raise a banner to the Rec Hall rafters commemorating the achievement on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 7:00 p.m. against Ohio State. It was the second NCAA title in program history, as the team also claimed the championship in 1994.
Next Up
Penn State returns home to host Harvard and Ohio State on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13-14 at 7:00 p.m. each night at Rec Hall.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2009 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets At Hershey.