Jan. 13, 2016
| PENN STATE vs LOYOLA | | Gentile Arena | Chicago, Ill | | Thursday, Jan. 14 - 7:00 p.m. ET | | ESPN 3 ($) | LIVE Stats | | Notes: Penn State | Loyola | | PENN STATE VS. LEWIS | | Saturday, Jan. 16 - 7 p.m. ET | | Live Stats | | Notes: Penn State | Lewis |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 10 Penn State men's volleyball (1-1) hits the road for a weekend against teams ranked in the top-15 for the second consecutive week. The Nittany Lions travel to sixth-ranked Loyola Chicago (1-2) Friday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m., before heading to No. 9 Lewis (3-1) Saturday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. in Neil Carey Arena.
Having already met a duo of ranked teams in the first two matches of the season, the Nittany Lions enter this weekend looking to bounce back from a five-set loss against No. 5 UCLA.
QUICK SETS
* Redshirt senior Matt Seifert highlighted the first EIVA Weekly Awards release with EIVA Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performances in the first week of the 2016 season. Seifert recorded seven kills while also posting eight total blocks, two solo, against No. 12 USC and No. 5 UCLA.
* Last weekend junior Chris Nugent led all Penn State hitters with 29 kills on .423 hitting vs USC and UCLA. Despite the close 3-2 loss against the Bruins, Nugent added 14 kills to go along with his 15 kills vs USC while finishing the weekend with three service aces, six digs and three total blocks
* Penn State currently leads the EIVA with a 1-1 record in non-conference play, closely followed by Harvard at 1-2 on the season. Harvard defeated King University (Tenn.) 3-0 to close out action at the 2016 Outrigger Resorts Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii.
FINAL FOUR FLASHBACK
Penn State will face two teams from last year's NCAA Semi-Finals. The Nittany Lions bowed out of the playoffs with a 3-1 loss to Lewis in Stanford, Calif. Lewis would go on to play Loyola in the NCAA final where Loyola would take the 2015 crown in a five-set down to the wire championship game.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
The Nittany Lions head to Chicago leading 11-10 in the all-time series against Loyola, having lost the last five straight against the Ramblers. In their last matchup, PSU came up short in a 3-1 loss on the road. Redshirt freshman Jalen Penrose recorded his first career double digit kill performance, logging a career-high 10 kills to go along with three digs and a block. Penn State travels to Lewis also leading the all-time series against the Flyers with a 19-12 advantage. PSU was defeated by Lewis last season, falling in all three matches against the Flyers.
SEIFERT EARNS EIVA DEFENSIVE HONOR.
Redshirt senior Matt Seifert highlighted the first EIVA Weekly Awards release with EIVA Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performances in the first week of the 2016 season. Seifert recorded seven kills while also posting eight total blocks, two solo, against No. 12 USC and No. 5 UCLA.
AVCA DI-II COACHES' POLL UPDATE: WEEK TWO
Penn State held steady at No. 10 in the AVCA DI-II Coaches Poll, after opening the season ranked No. 10. Presently, the Nittany Lions are set to square off a total of nine teams featured in the poll including eight teams ranked within the top 15 and two receiving votes. Having already taken on No. 5 UCLA and No. 12 USC, the Nittany Lions have seen or will see a total of eight more teams from the poll.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State will return to the friendly confines of Rec Hall Friday Jan. 22 to face Ball State at 7 p.m., followed by a showdown with IPFW Saturday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m.
