Jan. 28, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Two members of the sixth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (6-1) earned weekly awards from the EIVA this week. Junior Peter Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) was named the EIVA Offensive Player of the Week, while redshirt sophomore Connor Curry (Newport Beach, Calif.) was the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week.
This is the first weekly honor of the season for Russell and the second for Curry. These two awards bring Penn State's weekly award total for the 2013 season to four.
Russell, the Mike Anderson Player of the Game against Loyola-Chicago on Jan. 22, hit .358 for the week tying for the team lead with 26 kills. He also contributed four aces, was third on the team in digs with 13 (1.30 per set) and second in blocks with eight (0.80 per set). He tied for first on the team with 10 kills on .667 hitting against the Ramblers and also added four kills with two digs and three blocks against Sacred Heart on Jan. 25. Russell led the team with 12 kills in the match against Harvard on Jan. 26, while also tallying an ace, four digs and three blocks.
Curry guided the Nittany Lions defensively in three matches and was honored as the Mike Anderson Player of the Game on Jan. 26 for his performance against Harvard. For the week he totaled 29 digs and averaged 2.64 digs per set. His effective passing helped the Lions to a .240 hitting percentage for the week, including a .494 hitting percentage against the Ramblers and a .313 against the Pioneers. Curry posted five digs against Loyola-Chicago and was one of seven Nittany Lions to post at least two digs in the 3-0 win against Sacred Heart. Versus the Crimson, Curry tied his career high with 21 digs.
Penn State remains at home hosting Pfeiffer and Mount Olive on Feb. 1-2, respectively. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. starts.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2013 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.