| PENN STATE vs. SAINT FRANCIS (Pa) | | Rec Hall | University Park, Pa | | Thursday, Apr. 21 - 7:30 p.m. ET | | LIVE Video | | LIVE Audio | | Notes: Penn State | Saint Francis (Pa.) | | EIVA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH | | Rec Hall | University Park, Pa | | Saturday, Apr. 23 - 7:00 p.m. ET | | LIVE Video | LIVE Stats | LIVE Audio | | Notes: TBA | TBA |
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Rec Hall | University Park, Pa.
Bag Policy - Parking |
April 20, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Top-seeded Penn State men's volleyball (19-9, 12-2) looks to capture its 18th consecutive EIVA Championship title this week, kicking off the event with a semifinal match against fourth-seeded Saint Francis (Pa.) (18-9, 9-5) Thursday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. in Rec Hall. No. 2 seed George Mason and No.3 seed Harvard will square off in the earlier semifinal match at 5 p.m.
Live video and live stats will be available for all EIVA Championship matches. Links and more information regarding all participating teams can be found on the 2016 EIVA Championship Central page (http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-volley/eiva-championship.html).
QUICK SETS
* Penn State earned a total of five EIVA postseason honors. Junior Chris Nugent highlighted the group with Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Co-Player of the Year honors, while Royce Clemens earned EIVA Newcomer of the year.
* Nugent along with redshirt seniors Taylor Hammond, and Matt Seifert earned first team honors, while redshirt sophomore Royce Clemens was named EIVA Newcomer of the Year.
* The Nittany Lions clinched their 32st EIVA/ECVL regular season title in program history two weeks ago with a pair of wins against Harvard and Sacred Heart. The two wins guaranteed the Nittany Lions the No. 1 seed and home court advantage for the upcoming EIVA Championship April 21 and April 23.
* Penn State is slotted 11th in the latest release of the RPI ranking (4/18). The Nittany Lions are one of three EIVA teams represented in the RPI top 20, with Saint Francis (Pa.) (18), George Mason (19), Harvard (28), NJIT (34), Sacred Heart (36), and Princeton (37) all coming in behind PSU.
* Chris Nugent and Taylor Hammond lead the offense this season pouring in 376 kills and 1053 assist, respectively, while Royce Clemens and Matt Seifert have handled things on defense leading the team with 260 digs from Clemens and 92 total blocks from Seifert, respectively.
* Penn State is ranked in the top-25 in five different team categories including top-10 rankings in Kills per Set - 13.11 (6th), Blocks per Set - 2.36 (10th) and Assists per Set - 12.38 (6th). Individually, Chris Nugent is ranked 13th in the nation in Points per Set (4.43) and 12th in the nation in Kills Per Set (3.80), while Matt Callaway is currently 21st in the nation in Blocks Per Set averaging 1.01. Taylor Hammond is fifth in the nation in Assists per Set currently averaging 10.97.
PENN STATE TOTALS FIVE ALL-EIVA POSTSEASON HONORS
Four Nittany Lions earned EIVA post season honors, as announced by the conference Wednesday morning. Junior Chris Nugent highlights the group with his Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Player of the Year honors, extending the streak to four years straight that a
Nittany Lion has been named the EIVA player of the year following three straight nods for Aaron Russell (2013-2015).
Redshirt seniors Matt Seifert and Taylor Hammond each earned First Team All-EIVA honors, while redshirt sophomore Royce Clemens earned EIVA Newcomer of the Year accolades.
Nugent's award marks the 17th time a Nittany Lion has been honored as the league's Player of the Year.
The four All-EIVA honors brings Penn State's all-time number of conference selections to 202 since 1972.
AVCA DI-II COACHES' POLL UPDATE: APRIL 11
Penn State moved up two spots to No. 9 in the latest AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll. PSU has been in the top 15 the last 12 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.
A LOOK AT POTENTIAL EIVA CHAMPIONSHIP OPPONENTS
Penn State won both regular season contests against the Crimson during the 2016 regular season. The Nittany Lions topped Harvard in three in Cambridge, Mass. before claiming an identical 3-0 win at home. PSU is 13-1 in the all-time series against Harvard and have never lost to the Crimson in the EIVA Championship. Harvard posted a 9-5 record in EIVA action and a 13-10 mark on the year.
The Nittany Lions played the Patriots to four sets in both regular season outings this year splitting the season series at one game apiece. In the all-time series, Penn State owns a 99-15 advantage, having not lost an EIVA Championship match to the Patriots since 1988. GMU finished conference play with a 10-4 mark and a 16-11 overall record.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Should the Nittany Lions defeat Saint Francis (Pa.) in the EIVA Semifinals, Penn State will advance to the EIVA Championship match, which is slated for Saturday, April 23 at 7 p.m. PSU would meet the winner of the first semifinal match between No. 2 George Mason and No. 3 Harvard.
