April 2, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's volleyball team (18-3, 11-0 EIVA) picked up this week's EIVA weekly awards. Freshman Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) was named the EIVA Offensive Player of the Week, while redshirt freshman Connor Curry (Newport Beach, Calif.) earned Defensive Player of the Week honors. This is the fourth honor of the season for Curry and the first for Russell. The awards bring Penn State's total for the season to eight.
The pair guided Penn State to two EIVA wins over the weekend against Princeton and George Mason to remain undefeated at 11-0 in league play.
Russell registered a .686 attack percentage for the weekend after pounded 26 kills with only two errors in 35 swings. He averaged 2.89 kills per set, while also contributing seven total blocks for 31.5 points. Against Princeton, Russell was second on the team with 13 kills on .722 hitting. He also had an ace and two blocks. Against the Patriots of George Mason, Russell tied for first on the team with 12 kills on .647 hitting and also put up five total blocks.
Curry was the starting libero for the Nittany Lions against the Tigers and Patriots. Against Princeton, Curry had a career-high 21 digs and had zero reception errors in 36 attempts. On March 31 versus George Mason, Curry tied for first on the team with 11 digs and again had zero reception errors in 13 attempts. Curry averaged 3.56 digs per set for the weekend.
The Nittany Lions return home on April 6-7 after a seven-match road trip. Penn State faces Sacred Heart on April 6 at 7 p.m. before challenging Harvard on April 7 at 2 p.m.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2012 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.
Penn State men's volleyball is on Twitter. Follow @PSUVolleyball to get the inside scoop.