March 5, 2009
University Park, Pa. - The fourth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (14-1, 6-0 EIVA) hosts conference foe George Mason on Friday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Rec Hall. Gametracker and video will be available at www.GoPSUsports.com for the match and admission is free.
Previewing Penn State
The Nittany Lions come into the contest with a 14-1 overall record and a 6-0 league mark after defeating Saint Francis (30-19, 30-19, 30-24), then-No. 10 Lewis (30-21, 30-23, 25-20, 30-22) and NJIT (30-16, 30-17, 30-19) last week. Junior outside hitter Will Price leads the squad with 3.72 kills per game while senior opposite Ryan Sweitzer and junior middle hitter Max Lipsitz chip in 3.34 and 3.18 kills per game, respectively. Redshirt freshman setter Edgardo Goas directs the offense with 12.83 assists per game while sophomore libero Dennis Del Valle leads the defense with 3.02 digs per game. Lipsitz and senior middle hitter Max Holt head the blocking charts with 1.20 and 1.11 blocks per game, respectively. As a team, Penn State is hitting .412 with 15.66 kills per game. 1.96 service aces per game, 8.74 digs per game and 2.80 blocks per game.
The Series: Penn State vs. George Mason
Penn State leads George Mason, 81-14, in a series that began in 1977. The last meeting was a three-game Nittany Lion victory (30-24, 33-31, 30-23) on April 26, 2008 in the EIVA Championship match at Rec Hall. The last regular-season meeting was a four-game Patriot win (30-23, 30-22, 17-30, 33-31) on March 7, 2008, in Fairfax, Va. The last regular-season meeting at Rec Hall was a three-game Penn State win (30-20, 30-19, 30-24) on Feb. 15, 2008.
Last Time Out
The Nittany Lions defeated Saint Francis, #10 Lewis and NJIT last week at home. As a team, Penn State attacked at a .479 clip with 16.50 kills per game as Max Lipsitz led the squad with 33 kills on .583 hitting and Will Price posted 31 kills. Edgardo Goas dished out 141 total assists for an average of 14.10 assists per game while Dennis Del Valle posted 35 total digs for 3.89 digs per game. Lipsitz led the blocking front with 15 total blocks, an average of 1.50 blocks per game.
Next Up
Penn State travels to the West Coast to face BYU and Long Beach State on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14 at the Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif., before returning home on March 20-21 with IPFW and Loyola.
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.