June 5, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's volleyball redshirt freshman Jalen Penrose has been selected to the U.S. A. Volleyball roster to compete at the 2015 World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea.
Penrose is one of 12 men's volleyball student-athletes from seven different Universities to be selected to the roster, which features players from several top programs across the country. UC Irvine's David Kniffin will serve as the head coach for the squad along with Mount Olive's David Heller and Ball State's Joel Walton, who will serve as assistant coaches.
During the 2015 season, Penrose made his collegiate debut in the team's first match of the season against then-No. 8 UC Irvine. He continued to improve throughout the season, highlighting the spring break trip with a team-high six kills and six digs against Cal State Northridge before putting away nine kills, eight digs and four aces against then-No. 8 Long Beach State the next night.
After returning from the west coast, he posted 19 kills in a close five-set victory against Ohio State before totaling a career-high 21 kills in an EIVA win against NJIT.
Penrose played in 65 of the team's 113 sets this season, helping the team to its 17th consecutive EIVA Championship title and its 17th straight appearance in the NCAA national semifinals. He finished fourth on the team with 1.97 kills per set, while also adding 13 aces and 23 total blocks on the year.
Penrose and the rest of the United States are set to compete in the 2015 World University Games July 4-12.