Jan. 28, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 9 Penn State men's volleyball (4-2) Penn State hits the road for the second time this season as the Nittany Lions travel to Loretto, Pa. to take on No. 14 Saint Francis Friday, Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
QUICK SETS
* Penn State is ranked in the top-25 in six different team categories including top-10 rankings in Assists Per Set - 12.82 (4th), Blocks Per Set - 2.39 (9th), and Kills Per Set - 13.32 (6th). Individually, Chris Nugent is ranked 10th in the nation in Points Per Set (4.77), while Taylor Hammond is ranked 5th in Assists Per Set currently averaging 11.24.
* Penn State is currently second in the EIVA with a 4-2 record in non-conference play, trailing George Mason who is currently leading the EIVA with a record of 1-0 in conference play
following a straight set win over Charleston (W.V.) on January 16.
GAME TIME CHANGE
Penn State vs. Saint Francis will now be played on Friday January, 29 at 7:30 p.m.
AVCA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After helping the team to a wins against No. 14 Ball State and IPFW, Junior Chris Nugent earned EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors. The award is the first of the season for Nugent, who would also claim Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's Player of the Week honors as well after notching double-digit kill totals in both matches while hitting .600 against nationally-ranked Ball State and .500 against IPFW. This was the 16th time in program history a Penn State student-athlete has garnered Sports Imports/Player of the Week honors, with the most recent coming from Aaron Russell on March 17, 2015.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
The Nittany Lions travel to Saint Francis having never lost to Saint Francis, holding a 36-0 advantage in the all-time series against the Red Flash. Last season, PSU swept Saint Francis in both matchups winning both matches 3-0. Penn State has dropped only three sets to the Red Flash since 2008. The last time the NIttany Lions dropped a set to Saint Francis was during a February 1, 2014 match up as Penn State won the match 3-1.
AVCA DI-II COACHES' POLL UPDATE: WEEK THREE
Penn State moved up one spot to No. 9 in the AVCA DI-II Coaches Poll following sweeps of No. 14 Ball State and IPFW this past weekend. 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, No. 12 USC, No. 6 Loyola, and No. 9 Lewis, the Nittany Lions have seen or will see a total of nine more teams from the poll.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State will host Mount Olive Saturday February, 6 when the Trojans visit University Park for a 7 p.m. match in Rec Hall.
