Feb. 25, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the third time in 2013, the Penn State men's volleyball team swept the EIVA Weekly Awards. Sophomore Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) was the EIVA Offensive Player of the Week, while redshirt-freshman Matt Seifert (Reading, Pa.) was named the Defensive Player of the Week.
The duo helped guide the Nittany Lions to EIVA wins against George Mason and Princeton on Feb. 22-23. This is Russell's second EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and a first for Seifert.
Russell led the Nittany Lions with 35 kills with a .329 hitting percentage. He was second on the team in blocks with eight, averaging 1.00 per set and tallied three aces and nine digs. Russell was one of three players to post double-digit kills against George Mason with 13. He recorded all three of his aces against the Patriots and led the team in blocks with five. Against Princeton, Russell was honored as the Mike Anderson Penn State Player of the Game after pounding a career-high 22 kills on .395 hitting. He was third on the team in digs with six and also put up three blocks.
Seifert was unstoppable at the net combining for 13 total blocks for the weekend. He averaged 1.86 blocks per set. Seifert also posted 12 kills on .350 hitting, with two digs and an ace. Against the Patriots, Seifert tallied three kills and was first on tied with Russell with five blocks. Versus the Tigers, Seifert put down nine kills with a .429 hitting percentage. He also recorded a team-best eight blocks and added two digs.
Penn State meets Rutgers-Newark and NJIT on March 1-2, respectively. The Lions face the Scarlet Raiders at 7 p.m. on Friday before challenging NJIT at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
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.