April 16, 2010
Complete release in pdf format
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 12 Penn State men's volleyball team closes out the regular season on Saturday, April 17 at George Mason. The Nittany Lions and Patriots are meeting for the second time this season at 7 p.m. in Fairfax, Va. at GMU's RAC.
Live stats will be available via a link at GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State Preview
Penn State is wrapping up a six-match road trip at George Mason. The Nittany Lions are coming off a weekend where they went 0-2 in their second trip to California this season. The Nittany Lions attacked at a combined .213 clip at UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge. The Lions averaged 16.50 kills per set, 16.00 assists per set, 0.67 aces per set, 13.33 digs per set and 2.42 blocks per set. Senior Will Price led PSU with 4.67 kps, while redshirt sophomore setter paced the Lion offense with 14.67 aps. Junior libero Dennis Del Valle led the Lions with 3.67 dps and Goas led the Nittany Lions at the net with 1.17 bps.
For the season, Penn State has a .327 hitting percentage, which leads the EIVA and ranks fourth in the nation. The Lions' average of 16.31 kps also leads the EIVA and sits at second in the nation behind Stanford. Senior Max Lipsitz leads the nation with a .521 attack percentage, while Goas' 13.66 aps lead the conference and rank fourth nationally. Del Valle is averaging 3.52 dps to take top honors in the league and rank third in the nation.
Penn State vs. George Mason
The Patriots are Penn State's second most common opponent behind only Rutgers-Newark. GMU and PSU have met 98 times prior to Saturday's meeting. The Nittany Lions are 84-14 all-time against the Patriots. Penn State and George Mason have already met once this season on March 6 in the South Gym of Rec Hall. Penn State came away with a 3-0 sweep of the Patriots. George Mason's last win against the Nittany Lions was on March 7, 2008 with the Patriots earning a 3-1 victory on their home court.
Notes on the Patriots
George Mason had lost five straight matches between March 22 and April 3 before defeating Saint Francis, 3-2, and Juniata, 3-1. The Patriots most recently suffered a 3-0 setback to Princeton on April 11. GMU currently sits at 7-17 overall with a 4-5 record in EIVA play. Sophomore outside hitter Andrew Dentler leads the Patriot offense with 4.46 kps and freshman Javier Perez is handling setting duties with 9.65 aps. Junior libero Eric Lucas has a team-best 1.98 dps and freshman middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski has been strong above the net with 1.24 bps.
What's Next?
Penn State clinched the No. 1 seed for the EIVA Tournament. After a bye on April 24, the Nittany Lions will host the EIVA Tournament Semifinals and Championship on April 29 and May 1, respectively, at Rec Hall. Match times are set for 5:30 and 8 p.m. on April 29 and 7 p.m. on May 1.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2010 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.