Feb. 11, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 7 Penn State men's volleyball (6-2, 1-0) look to continue their win streak of five straight as they travel to Cambridge, MA and Fairfield, CT. The Nittany Lions take on Harvard (3-4, 0-0) Friday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. ET, followed by a Saturday Feb. 13 match up against the Pioneers of Sacred Heart (0-7, 0-0) at 7 p.m. ET.
QUICK SETS
* Through eight games this season, junior Chris Nugent leads the team with 108 kills on 204 attempts hitting .309 on the year followed closely by Jalen Penrose's 81 kills on 168 attempts hitting .190 on the season. Taylor Hammond leads the Nittany Lions with 293 assist, averaging 11.27 a set, while Royce Clemens leads the team with 62 digs. Redshirt Junior and Team Captain Matt Callaway has recorded 31 total blocks this season averaging 1.11 per set this season.
* Penn State is currently second in the EIVA with a 6-2 record over all and 1-0 record in conference play, closely followed by George Mason at 3-6 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. Princeton is currently leading the EIVA with a record of 2-0 in conference play following a straight set win over Charleston (W.V.) on February 6.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
The Nittany Lions head to Cambridge, MA with a 9-1 all-time series lead over the Crimson. Penn State's lone loss in the series came on February 15, 2013 on the road. Harvard swept the Nittany Lions 3-0 to upset the then No. 9 team in the country.
Penn State will look to continue its success against Sacred Heart Saturday February 13th as they'll enter the match holding an 8-0 series lead over the Pioneers. The Nittany Lions defeated Sacred Heart 3-1 during their last matchup in Rec Hall back on April 11, 2015.
This is the third straight week that Penn State will face a team they've never lost to following matchups against Saint Francis, as Penn State extended the all-time series to 37-0 against the Red Flash, and Mount Olive who Penn State sent home in straight sets to bring the all-time series record to 9-0 since the series began in 2005.
AVCA DI-II COACHES' POLL UPDATE: WEEK FIVE
Penn State jumped one spot to No. 7 in the latest AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll. PSU has been in the top 15 the last five consecutive weeks since debuting at No. 10 in the AVCA DI-II pre-season poll. 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.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State will return to Rec Hall February 19-20 for their first home conference matches of the year as they welcome NJIT Friday Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. and Princeton Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. in Penn State's lone game in south gym this season.
