April 26, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Redshirt senior men's volleyball player Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) was named a second team AVCA All-American, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced Thursday. This is Sunder's second career award and brings Penn State's total number of All-Americans to 79 since 1971.
Sunder, a 2011 first-team AVCA All-American, Sunder leads the Nittany Lions in kills (297) and kills per set (3.49). He is second on the team in aces (27), aces per set (0.32), digs (153) and digs per set (1.80). A two-time Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year, Sunder's kills per set rank fifth in the league and 20th nationally, while his .333 hitting percentage is eighth in the EIVA and 11th in the country. In addition, Sunder's aces per set are sixth in the conference and 17th in the nation, while his digs per set average is 10th in the EIVA and ranked in the top 50 nationally.
A four-time All-EIVA selection, having earned second team laurels in 2009 and 2010 and first team honors for the past two seasons, Sunder has etched his named in the Penn State record books. He ranks fifth in both kills (1,442) and aces (105). He has also been selected as the EIVA Player of the Week on six occasions.
Sunder has helped guide Penn State to a 21-5 overall record in 2012. The Nittany Lions finished the EIVA regular season with a perfect 14-0 record and are the No. 1 seed in the EIVA Championship being held at Penn State tonight and Saturday, April 28.
Penn State is in action tonight at 8 p.m. vs. fourth-seeded Princeton in the EIVA Semifinals. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth and can be purchased at the door. Should the Nittany Lions defeat Princeton, they will play in the EIVA Championship on Saturday, April 28 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall and compete for a berth in the 2012 NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship hosted by USC on May 3 & 5.
AVCA Division I-II Men's First-Team All-America
Thomas Amberg, ULCA, MB, Sr., 6-7, El Cajon, Calif.
Kyle Caldwell, UCLA, S, Sr., 6-9, Newport Beach, Calif.
Tony Ciarelli, USC, OH, Sr., 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Carson Clark, UC Irvine, Opp., Sr., 6-7, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Brad Lawson, Stanford, OH, Sr., 6-7, Honolulu, Hawaii
Taylor Sander, BYU, OH, SO., 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Shawn Sangrey, Ohio State, Opp., Sr., Columbia, Pa.
Erik Shoji, Stanford, L, Sr., 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii
Futi Tavana, BYU, MB, Sr., 6-8, Saipipi, Samoa
Kavin Tillie, UC Irvine, OH, Jr., 6-6, Cagnus-sur Mer, France
AVCA Division I-II Men's Second-Team All-America
Evan Barry, Stanford, S, Sr., 6-3, San Diego, Calif.
BJ Boldog, Lewis, S., So., 6-4, Palatine, Ill.
Henry Cassiday, USC, L, So., 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii
Micah Christenson, USC, S, Fr., 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii
Weston Dunlap, UCLA, MB, Sr., 6-8, Newport Beach, Calif.
Jay Petty, Lewis, Oh, Jr., 6-6, Downers Grove, Ill.
Steven Shandrick, USC, Mb, Sr., 6-7, Lake Forest, Calif.
Joseph Smalzer, Loyola, Opp., So., 6-8, Palos Heights, Ill.
Joe Sunder, Penn State, OH, Sr., 6-7, Greensburg, Pa.
Maurice Torres, Pepperdine, Opp., Jr., 6-7, Riverside, Calif.
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.
The Penn State men's volleyball team is on Twitter. Follow @PSUVolleyball to get the inside scoop.