March 24, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After guiding Penn State men's volleyball to its sixth consecutive win last week, senior Aaron Russell has been named the EIVA Offensive Player of the Week, as announced by the conference this morning. The honor is the second consecutive for Russell, who has collected the award a total of three times this season.
Russell helped then-No. 10 Penn State to a thrilling five-set victory against No. 11 Ohio State at home in Rec Hall last week. In addition to winning each of the last six matches, PSU has also captured wins in its last three matches against an opponent ranked within the top 15.
He led the team with his second 30-kill performance of the season against the Buckeyes, totaling a match-high 30 kills on .458 hitting. He added 14 digs for his second double-double of the season to go along with three blocks and two aces.
Russell has posted at least 19 kills in three of the last four matches, including two outings with 20 or more kills. On the year, he's averaging 4.72 kills per set, which ranks second nationally and leads the EIVA. From the service line, his 0.52 aces per frame ranks sixth in the nation and third in the conference.
Russell and the rest of the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions remain home this week, welcoming a pair of EIVA opponents to the court at Rec Hall. First up, EIVA conference leader Penn State (10-9, 4-0), hosts second-place Princeton (8-7, 4-1) Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m., before taking on NJIT (7-8, 0-5) Saturday, March 28 at 4 p.m. Both matches are set to take place in south gym.