March 17, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Aaron Russell has earned AVCA Sports Imports DI-II National Player of the Week honors, as announced by the organization this afternoon. The honor is the first of Russell's career and the 15th time a Nittany Lion has been selected for the weekly award.
The honor comes just a day after he picked up his second EIVA Offensive Player of the Week award this season.
Russell helped Penn State to a 3-0 week on the road during the Nittany Lions' annual spring break trip. He opened the week guiding PSU to a 3-0 victory at No. 7 USC with 20 kills, hitting .720 with two errors on 25 swings. Against Cal State Northridge, he recorded his first double-double of the season with 16 kills and 10 digs, while also adding a match-high five aces. He capped off the week with 19 kills in a straight set win against No. 8 LBSU with a team-high 19 kills to go along with Asics Invitational MVP honors.
Having recorded double digit kills in all but one match this season, Russell's leading the team with 4.62 kills per set, which ranks first in the conference and second nationally. From the service line, Russell's averaging 0.53 aces per set, which is slotted second in the EIVA standings and fourth in the nation.
Russell is the first Nittany Lion to earn the award since Joe Sunder was tabbed Player of the Week in 2011.
No. 10 Penn State men's volleyball (9-9, 4-0) is set to host No. 11 Ohio State (14-5, 7-3) Saturday, March 21 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. The meeting is the second of the season between the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes and PSU's first home contest in nearly a month.