March 10, 2011
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The 10th-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (14-4, 7-0 EIVA) is set to take on No. 5 UC Santa Barbara and No. 5 Long Beach. The Nittany Lions face UCSB on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, March 11, followed by LBSU on Saturday, March 12 at 10 p.m. ET.
Penn State Preview
The Nittany Lions saw their seven-match winning streak come to an end at the hands of No. 8 UCLA on Wednesday, March 9 in a 3-2 loss. Redshirt junior Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) led the Lions with 4.40 kills per set and sophomore Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) wasn't far behind with 3.60 kills per set. Redshirt junior Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) paced the Penn State offense with 9.80 assists per set, while senior Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) had a team-high 2.00 digs per set. Sophomore Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) was a wall at the net with a team-leading 1.20 blocks per set. Penn State averaged 11.80 kills, 11.00 assists, 0.40 aces, 7.20 digs and 2.00 blocks per set.
Penn State vs. UC Santa Barbara
Penn State owns a 5-8 record against the Gauchos in a series that begin in 1982. The squads last met in 2010 on Penn State's second trip of the season to California on April 9. The Nittany Lions suffered a 3-0 (26-30, 25-30, 22-30) loss to UCSB.
The fifth-ranked Gauchos have compiled an 11-8 record in 2011. UCSB has won three of its last five matches, with its most recent losses coming at the hands of Stanford and LBSU.
Penn State vs. Long Beach
The Nittany Lions are 6-13 against LBSU. The squads last met in 2010 when Long Beach hosted Penn State on March 13. Penn State came away with a 3-0 (30-28, 30-28, 30-27) victory, with three Nittany Lions posting double-digit kills led by senior Will Price's 21.
No. 5 Long Beach is 9-7 so far this season. Most recently, LBSU suffered a 3-2 loss to UCLA.
What's Next?
The Nittany Lions return home March 18-19 to host Ball State and IPFW at Rec Hall. Action is set for 7 p.m. both nights.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2011 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.