| PENN STATE vs. HARVARD | | Rec Hall | University Park, Pa | | Friday, Apr. 8 - 7:00 p.m. ET | | LIVE Video | | LIVE Audio | | Notes: Penn State | Harvard | | PENN STATE vs. SACRED HEART | | Rec Hall | University Park, Pa | | Saturday, Apr. 9 - 7:00 p.m. ET | | LIVE Video | | LIVE Audio | | Notes: Penn State | Sacred Heart |
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Rec Hall | University Park, Pa.
Bag Policy - Parking |
April 7, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 2016 regular season home slate comes to an end as No. 11 Penn State (16-8, 9-1 EIVA) host its final home matches this weekend welcoming Harvard (Apr. 8) and Sacred Heart (Apr. 9) to Rec Hall with both matches scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
QUICK SETS
* Chris Nugent and Taylor Hammond lead the offense this season pouring in 326 kills and 912 assist, respectively, while Royce Clemens and Matt Seifert have handled things on defense leading the team with 2013 digs from Clemens and 79 total blocks from Seifert, respectively.
* Penn State currently leads the EIVA with a 9-1 record in conference play. Harvard is second in the EIVA with a record of 7-3 in conference play and 11-8 overall. NJIT is third with an EIVA record of 7-4 while Saint Francis (Pa.) rounds out the top-four with a 6-4 record in conference play.
*Penn State is ranked in the top-25 in five different team categories including top-10 rankings in Kills per Set - 13.19 (3rd), Blocks per Set - 2.42 (8th) and Assists per Set - 12.43 (3rd). Individually, Chris Nugent is ranked 11th in the nation in Points per Set (4.44) and 12th in the nation in Kills Per Set (3.81), while Matt Callaway is currently 17th in the nation in Blocks Per Set averaging 1.06. Taylor Hammond is fourth in the nation in Assists per Set currently averaging 10.99.
SENIOR NIGHT
The Nittany Lions will honor the senior members on this season squad (Ethan Huhn, Taylor Hammond, Zack Parik, Andrew Roberts, Spencer Sauter, Matt Seifert) following pre-game warmups Saturday April 9 vs. Sacred Heart.
MAGIC NUMBER
The magic number to claim the EIVA championship is 11. Penn State can outright win the EIVA with two more conference wins, and will be entitled to at least a share with one more conference win. Penn State has won 17-consecutive EIVA championships and 31 overall in program history.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
The Nittany Lions lead the Crimson in the all-time series 12-1 since their first matchup in 2000. Penn State last faced Harvard on Feb. 12 pulling out the win in a sweep 3-0. The Nittany Lions lead Sacred Heart in the all-time series 11-0 since first playing the Pioneers in 2004. In their last matchup, Penn State downed Sacred Heart in four winning 3-1 back on Feb. 13.
AVCA DI-II COACHES' POLL UPDATE: WEEK 11
Penn State checked in at No. 11 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.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State hits the road for the final time this season as they travel to Charleston, WV to face the Golden Eagles on Friday April 15 at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday April 16 matchup against the George Mason Patriots in Fairfax, VA set to begin at 7 p.m.
