Oct. 15, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Following a 2014 season that featured Penn State men's volleyball's 16th consecutive trip the NCAA national semifinals, the Nittany Lions return to the court to host their annual fall invitational. Beginning Thursday, Oct. 16 and running through Saturday, Oct. 18, PSU is set to welcome Ohio State, Lewis and Canadian University, York to the court in Rec Hall. Admission to all matches is free of charge.
Penn State kicks off the event with a 7 p.m. matchup against York Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. Ohio State and York open day two of competition squaring off at 4:30 p.m. before Penn State and Lewis take to the court at 7:30 p.m. Lewis and York begin the final day of tournament with a 4:30 p.m. match before Penn State and Ohio State wrap up the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. matchup.
The Nittany Lions closed out the 2014 season with a 25-6 overall mark, including a 13-1 record in EIVA action. Penn State also captured its 26th overall and 16th straight EIVA Championship title last year, following a pair of straight-set victories against George Mason and Princeton in the tournament.
Penn State returns almost all of its starters from a year ago, with graduating senior and 2014 All-EIVA second team honoree, Peter Russell as the only departure. Senior Aaron Russell highlights the group of talented returners as he closed out the 2014 season atop the team standings in almost every category, while also ranking first nationally in aces per set (0.65). The 2014 First Team AVCA All-American also earned his second consecutive Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year award this past season, making him the first Nittany Lion since Joe Sunder (2011-12) to earn back-to-back conference player of the year honors.
More Nittany Lion returning starters include AVCA All-America honorable mention and first team All-EIVA selection redshirt senior Nick Goodell and redshirt junior Taylor Hammond, who also earned first team All-EIVA accolades. Other returning starters include second team All-EIVA honorees redshirt senior Connor Curry and redshirt junior Matt Seifert.
OPPONENT QUICK SETS
Ohio State Buckeyes - Columbus, Ohio - 2014 Record: 11-16, 6-8 (MIVA)
Penn State went 2-1 against the Buckeyes during the 2014 season, highlighting the year with a straight set victory against Ohio State in the Outrigger Invitational in Hawaii. OSU is led by a trio of top returners including redshirt senior Andrew Lutz, senior Michael Henchy and redshirt junior Driss Guessous. Lutz led the team with 3.59 kills per set in 2014, while Guessous and Henchy each concluded the season with more than 2.55 kills per frame. Sophomore Christy Blough was a member of the bronze-medal-winning U.S. Junior National Team in the 2014 NORCECA U-21 Continental Championships in El Salvador.
Lewis Flyers - Romeoville, Ill. - 2014 Record: 23-8, 11-3 (MIVA)
Penn State posted a 2-0 record against Lewis during the 2014 season including a 3-1 win against the Flyers in the play-in match that gave the Nittany Lions their official berth to the NCAA national semifinals. The tandem of Geoff Powell and Greg Petty led the 2014 Lewis offense with more than 3.40 kills per set each, highlighted by Powell's 3.89 per frame. Powell also served as an alternate at the 2014 IX Men's Pan American Cup games with USA Volleyball.
York University Lions - Toronto, Canada - 2014 Record: 13-8, 12-6 (OUA)
The York Lions put together a 13-8 record in 2014, falling short of the OUA (Ontario University Athletics) title in the quarterfinals. Ray Szeto was honored as an OUA first team all-star, while Greg Ivan picked up second team honors. Szeto led the team with 4.04 kills per set during the 2014 season, while Ivan led the blocking unit with 61 total blocks, averaging 0.79 per set. Both Sven Trodel and Felipe Humana-Paredes each represented Canada this summer at the World University Championships.