Feb. 3, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After guiding the No. 12 Penn State men's volleyball team to another undefeated weekend at home, junior Aaron Russell, has been tabbed the EIVA Offensive Player of the Week, as announced by the conference this afternoon. The award is Russell's second EIVA weekly honor of the season.
Russell opened the weekend with five kills, two digs, two blocks and one ace against non-conference foe, Mount Olive. The next evening, Russell played a key role in the Nittany Lions' 3-1 EIVA opening victory against Saint Francis. He led the offense with 16 kills and 11 digs, marking his second double-double of the season. Russell also notched a team-high four aces in the match.
He closed out the weekend with 21 kills on .341 attacking, adding 13 digs and four blocks. On the national scale, Russell's 3.81 kills per set on the year ranks 12th nationally, while his 0.46 aces per frame ranks 13th.
Russell and the rest of the Penn State men's volleyball team (5-2) will welcome No. 14 Ohio State to Rec Hall for a midweek matchup slated for Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:15 p.m. The Nittany Lions will then jump back into action, hosting Erskine and Pfeiffer in a pair of non-conference matchups this weekend. Penn State takes on Erskine Friday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. in main gym, before hosting Pfeiffer Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in south gym.