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April 9, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Seventh-ranked Penn State men's volleyball (13-9, 7-0) returns home from the road this week to wrap up the regular season home slate. The Nittany Lions host Harvard (11-9, 5-3) Friday, April 10 at 7 p.m. before taking on Sacred Heart Saturday, April 11 at 4 p.m. on senior day. Both matches are set to take place in main gym.
Prior to Saturday's match, Penn State men's volleyball will take a moment to recognize its three Nittany Lion seniors and honor their contributions to the program. Throughout their collegiate careers in the Blue and White, Connor Curry, Nick Goodell and Aaron Russell have all been important parts in helping PSU to multiple EIVA Championship titles and several NCAA national semifinal appearances along the way.
The Nittany Lions enter the weekend riding a nine-match winning streak that dates back February 28, 2015, when PSU knocked off Harvard in four sets to open the stretch of victories.
QUICK SETS
* Penn State went 1-0 last week, earning a 3-0 win at George Mason to remain undefeated in EIVA conference action. Three Nittany Lions powered the PSU offense with double figure kills. Senior Aaron Russell led the way with 15 kills, while redshirt freshman Jalen Penrose logged his fourth consecutive double-digit kill performance with 13 kills. Sophomore Chris Nugent rounded out the group with 10 kills.
* Wins against Harvard and Sacred Heart this weekend would clinch an outright EIVA title for the Nittany Lions, giving Penn State home court advantage heading into the EIVA Championship tournament. PSU has won a total of 30 EIVA/ECVL regular season titles in program history, including a total of 19 under the direction of head coach Mark Pavlik.
* The Nittany Lions own a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Crimson. Earlier this season, PSU rallied from behind by one set to beat Harvard in four sets on the road. Penn State has now won its last four in a row against Harvard since surrendering its first loss to the Crimson in program history in the final regular season outing in 2013.
* PSU holds a perfect 9-0 lead in the all-time series against Sacred Heart, having never lost to the Pioneers. Having swept SHU on the road earlier this season, the Nittany Lions have not dropped a single set against the Pioneers since 2004. Penn State is still slotted sixth in the third release of the RPI ranking. The
* Nittany Lions are the only EIVA team represented in the RPI top 20, with Harvard (20), George Mason (23), Princeton (25) Saint Francis (32), Sacred Heart (26) and NJIT (34) all coming in behind Penn State.
* Penn State is ranked among the top 10 nationally in kills per set, averaging 12.99, which is slated seventh in the country and leads the EIVA. Senior Aaron Russell's contributing a team-high 4.74 kills per set, which ranks second in the nation and first in the league.
* PSU is ranked in the top 15 nationally in digs per set, averaging 9.51, which is slotted 11th in the nation and second in the EIVA. Redshirt senior Connor Curry's leading the way with a team-high 2.41 digs per frame, which ranks eighth in the nation and first in the league.
AVCA DI-II COACHES' POLL UPDATE: APRIL 6
Penn State remained solid a No. 7 in the latest AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll for the second straight week. PSU has been in the top 15 the last five consecutive weeks since spending a month receiving votes. The Nittany Lions have now seen or will see a total of nine teams from the top 15 at some point during the regular season.
PAVLIK APPROACHING CAREER MILESTONE
In his 21st year at the helm of the program, head coach Mark Pavlik has amassed 495 career victories. His all-time mark puts him just five shy of 500 career-wins. Pavlik is on track to reach the mark in the regular season finale at Saint Francis (Pa.) March 25th.
PENN STATE AND THIS WEEKEND'S COMPETITION: LAST TIME OUT
Penn State men's volleyball rallied from behind to top Harvard in four sets (21-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-22) on the road at the Malkin Athletic Center. The next night, PSU downed Sacred Heart in straight sets (25-16, 25-11, 25-21).
Redshirt senior Nick Goodell powered the offense with his second 20-plus kill outing of the season, matching a career-high mark with a match-high 25 kills on .450 hitting against the Crimson. Senior Aaron Russell finished second on the team with 15 kills. Against the Pioneers, both Russell and sophomore Chris Nugent put down double figure kills, tallying 11 each.
1,000 CAREER KILLS AND COUNTING
Both Aaron Russell and Nick Goodell are ranked among the top five in the NCAA DI active career leaders in kills. Russell leads the duo with 1,384 career kills which ranks first in DI and is the third-most among all three divisions. Goodell is ranked fifth in DI with 1,058 career kills. Russell and Goodell are also two of only seven active NCAA DI players to reach the 1,000 career kills plateau in their career.
ACES ON ACES ON ACES
With 177 career aces, senior Aaron Russell leads all active NCAA players with the most aces. On the Penn State record list, he's ranked second all-time and needs 30 more aces to match Max Holt (2006-09). On the year, Russell is averaging 0.51 aces per set, which ranks sixth nationally and third in the EIVA standings.
MAKING AN IMPACT
Nine weeks ago, sophomore Chris Nugent highlighted the weekend with a pair of career high performances. In his first career start against Mount Olive, Nugent led the offense with a match-high 16 kills on .500 hitting, adding three aces, five digs and two blocks to earn Mike Anderson Penn State Player of the Match honors.
The next night, he set another career-high mark with a match-high seven aces against Saint Francis. Against Erskine, he tied for first on the team with 12 kills, while also adding two aces and a career-high five blocks. Since earning his first start, he's ranked fourth on the team with 2.25 kills per set and second in aces per set (0.35) with 21 on the year, which ranks seventh in the EIVA.
Redshirt freshman Aidan Albrecht has also seen action on the court this season. He made his collegiate debut in the EIVA opener against Saint Francis, before posting a career-high four blocks against Erskine. Against George Mason he tallied a career-high five kills.
Redshirt freshman Jalen Penrose had a career weekend at the Asics Invitational. He highlighted the event with nine kills, eight digs, four aces and three blocks at No. 8 Long Beach State. He finished second on the team with six kills and six digs the night before against CSUN, adding six digs and three blocks. Penrose logged 19 kills on .230 hitting against No. 11 Ohio State, before registering a career-high 21 kills against NJIT. He's currently ranked third on the team with 2.33 kills per set, having recorded double figures in the last four consecutive matches.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State hits the road next week, traveling to Princeton and NJIT for two of the final three EIVA conference matches of the regular season. The Nittany Lions take on Princeton Friday, April 17 at 7 p.m. before squaring off against NJIT Saturday, April 18 at 4 p.m.