April 22, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Six members of the 12th-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (21-7) have earned seven postseason EIVA awards, league officials announced. Senior middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) was named the Uvaldo Acosta Player of the Year.
Lipsitz was one of five Nittany Lions named to the All-EIVA squads. Lipsitz, senior opposite Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.), redshirt sophomore setter Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and junior libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) all earned First Team All-EIVA honors, while redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) was named to the All-EIVA second team.
In addition, sophomore Ryan Wolf (York, Pa.) was one of 16 student-athletes from the league institutions named to the EIVA All-Academic Team. To be eligible, the student-athlete must be at least a sophomore, have a 3.50 GPA or higher and have participated in at least 60 percent of the matches played by their team.
The six All-East accolades pushed Penn State's total number of all-time All-East selections to 171 since 1972 and Lipsitz's Player of the Year distinction is the 11th overall for the Nittany Lions and third straight.
Lipsitz earned his first Uvaldo Acosta Player of the Year honor and his fourth First Team All-EIVA award. He currently leads the Nittany Lions with 139 total blocks (1.42 blocks per set) and is third on the team in kills with 351 (3.58 kills per set). His .520 attack percentage leads the nation. For his career, Lipsitz ranks second all-time in block assists with 445 and fourth in total blocks with 487.
Price picked up his second All-EIVA nod since transferring to Penn State and the third of his career after also earning First Team honors in 2007 at George Mason. Price leads the Lions with 444 kills (4.53 kills per set) and 41 aces. He also ranks second on the team in digs with 190 (1.94 digs per set).
This is the second career honor for Goas, who was named the Newcomer of the Year in 2009 as well as earning a spot on the First Team. He has guided the Nittany Lions to a .323 attack percentage, which ranks fifth in the nation, and his 13.64 assists per set is good enough to rank No. 3 nationally. An all-around player, Goas is third on the team with 1.81 assists per set and 0.88 blocks per set.
Del Valle secured a spot on the First Team for the third straight season. A two-time AVCA All-American, Del Valle leads Penn State with 3.52 digs per set and ranks third in the NCAA. With 14 digs in a 3-1 Penn State win at George Mason on April 17, Del Valle moved into first place on the Penn State career digs list with 915. He also owns the top two single-season digs records, including his 310 in 2009 and his 2010 record of 341 heading into the EIVA Semifinals.
Sunder was named to the All-EIVA second team for the second consecutive season. He is averaging 3.83 kills per set to sit second on the PSU squad and has also contributed 25 aces, 133 digs and 75 total blocks.
As the top seed in the EIVA league playoffs, Penn State earned a bye in the quarterfinals. Rec Hall is once again the site of the EIVA Championships on Thursday, April 29 and Saturday, May 1. The winner earns the league's automatic berth in the NCAA National Collegiate Championships Semifinal, held on the campus of Stanford on Thursday, May 6. The National Championships match is set for Saturday, May 8.
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.