Jan. 7, 2015
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 3 Penn State is set to open its 39th season of men's volleyball this week, traveling to Honolulu, Hawaii to compete in the 2015 Outrigger Invitational. The Nittany Lions will make their 20th appearance in the prestigious early-season tournament, squaring off against UC Irvine Thursday, January 8 at 9 p.m. ET and tournament host Hawaii Saturday, January 10 at 12 a.m. ET.
Both live stats and live radio coverage is available online for both Nittany Lion matchups. Fans can also catch a live stream of the match against Hawaii on OCSports.tv.
QUICK SETS
* Penn State is 20-13 in Outrigger Invitational matches, having captured the title in 2008 and 2009. Last year, Penn State finished with a 1-2 mark, opening competition with a tough 3-2 loss to UCLA before dropping a 3-1 decision to Hawaii. The Nittany Lions rebounded with a straight set win against Ohio State to close out the event.
* Both UC Irvine and Hawaii own the advantage in the all-time series against the Nittany Lions. Having claimed a win in the 2014 Outrigger Invite last year, Hawaii is up 13-8, while the Anteaters are ahead 7-4, with the most recent meeting dating back to April 13, 2013.
* In his 21st season at the helm of the program, head coach Mark Pavlik returns a solid group of nine letterwinners and five starters, while also welcoming four freshman to the roster.
* Returning almost all of its starters from a year ago, Penn State's only departure is 2014 All-EIVA second team honoree, Peter Russell. AVCA first team All-American senior Aaron Russell highlights the group of returners as the first two-time Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year since the 2011-12 season.
* The 26-time defending EIVA champion Penn State men's volleyball team was selected as this year's EIVA preseason favorite. The Nittany Lions were voted to capture this season's championship crown by the league's seven head coaches, receiving six of a possible seven first-place votes in the preseason poll.
* As the only team represented in the AVCA DI-II Men's Volleyball Preseason Poll, Penn State opens the season ranked third nationally.
* The Nittany Lions will square off a total of 11 teams featured in the this season's AVCA preseason poll including nine teams ranked within the top 15 and two receiving votes.
* First team AVCA All-American senior Aaron Russell and redshirt senior Nick Goodell, both picked up 2015 Off the Block/Springbak Preseason All-America honors. Russell was selected as a First Team All-American, while Goodell earned Second Team honors.
PENN STATE VOTED EIVA PRESEASON FAVORITE
The 16-time defending EIVA champion Penn State men's volleyball team has been selected as the 2014 EIVA preseason favorite. The Nittany Lions were voted to capture this year's championship crown by the league's seven head coaches. Penn State received six of a possible seven first place votes in the preseason poll, while Princeton picked up one. The Tigers are slotted to finish second, while George Mason, Harvard and St. Francis (Pa.) round out the top five in spots three through five.
NITTANY LIONS PICKED THIRD IN AVCA PRESEASON POLL
Penn State was the only EIVA school to earn a spot on the 2015 AVCA DI-II Men's Volleyball Preseason Poll, coming in a No. 3. Pepperdine earned this year's No. 1 overall spot, while defending NCAA national champion Loyola-Chicago claimed the No. 2 position, picking up eight first place votes. UC Santa Barbara and UCLA rounded out the top five at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
Penn State will square off a total of 11 teams featured in the 2014 AVCA preseason poll including nine teams ranked within the top 15 and two receiving votes. First up, the Nittany Lions meet eighth-ranked UC Irvine and T-10 Hawaii in the Outrigger Invitational. PSU then travels to No. 15 IPFW before returning home to welcome the No.2 Ramblers and No. 9 Lewis in the 2014 home opener at Rec Hall January 23-24.
PSU TO HOST 2016 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
University Park will be the site of the 2016 National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship, marking the sixth time in school history that Rec Hall has hosted the event. Penn State will serve as the host of the vaunted event on May 5-7, 2016. Penn State men's volleyball was selected as one of two Nittany Lion programs to host an NCAA national championship. The announcement came during the 2014 NCAA announcement of its host sites through the 2017-18 season.
RUSSELL, GOODELL EARN OFF THE BLOCK PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS
First team AVCA All-American senior Aaron Russell and redshirt senior Nick Goodell, both picked up 2015 Off the Block/Springbak Preseason All-America honors. Russell was selected as a First Team All-American, while Goodell earned Second Team honors. The duo are just two of 22 student-athletes to earn the honor, which is selected by a nationwide voting committee comprised of coaches from around the country. The Off the Block Preseason All-American teams recognizes the NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball players predicted to perform best in the country during the upcoming season.
PAVLIK APPROACHING CAREER MARK
In his 21st year at the helm of the program, head coach Mark Pavlik has amassed 482 career victories. His all-time mark puts him just 18 shy of the milestone 500 career-wins plateau.
WHO'S BACK?
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.
FRESH FACES ON THE COURT IN 2014
The defending EIVA champion men's volleyball team returns a core group of nine letterwinners and five starters this year, while welcoming four freshmen to the roster. The new additions include 6-1 defensive specialist Royce Clemens from York, Pa., Matthew McLaren, a 6-4 outside from Aurora, Colo., Lee Smith, a 6-6 outside from Sewickley, Pa., and Parker Thompson, a 6-0 defensive specialist from State College, Pa.
RUSSELL RETURNS AS NATIONAL LEADER IN ACES PER SET
Aaron Russell continued to impress from the service line, as his 0.65 aces per frame closed out the year ranked No. 1 nationally. His team-high mark also led the conference. In 2013, Russell tallied 40 aces on the year, which ranks 10th all-time on the single-season record list. With 71 aces on the year in 2014, Russell set a new single-season personal best as his mark ranked second all-time on the single season list. On the career list, his 136 aces ranks second all-time.
RUSSELL JOINS TEAM U.S.A FOR WORLD QUALIFIER
First Team AVCA All-American Aaron Russell was selected to the U.S. Men's National Team for the 2014 NORCECA Men's World Championship Qualification Tournament this summer. He was one of just four outsides to be selected to the 12-man roster, which also features several Olympians from the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Teams.
LEADING LIONS
Senior Aaron Russell and redshirt junior Matt Seifert have been voted as the two team captains for the 2015 season. Seifert is no stranger to the leadership role, having served alongside Connor Curry as one of two team captains during the 2014 season.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State remains on the road next week, traveling to Ball State and IPFW for a pair of non-conference matchups. The Nittany Lions take on Ball State Friday, Jan. 16 at 8:30 p.m., before squaring off against IPFW Saturday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m.