Dec. 13, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Chris Nugent (Fair Lawn, N.J.) was named to the Off the Block Preseason Second Team All-America Team for Division I-II. He was one of 21 players nationwide selected to the teams.
The Off the Block Preseason All-America Teams recognize the NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball players projected to be the best in the nation during the upcoming season. Ten players were selected as Preseason First Team-All-Americans and 11 players were named Preseason Second Team All-Americans. Players from 11 different programs were honored.
Nugent, a 2016 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, started in 29 matches playing 103 sets at outside hitter. A first-team All-EIVA selection and Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Co-Player of the Year, Nugent led the Lions with 396 kills, averaging 3.84 kills per set. Nugent hit .309 for the season, which ranked third in the EIVA - 34th nationally - and totaled a team high 31 aces to average 0.30 service aces per set. In addition, Nugent averaged 1.35 digs per set.
A member of the EIVA Championship All-Tournament team, Nugent helped guide Penn State to a 19-10 overall record and a 12-2 record in EIVA action capturing the 18th-consecutive EIVA Regular Season.
This is the sixth year for the Off the Block Preseason All-America Teams. Off the Block is a website dedicated to collegiate men's volleyball news and analysis. The 26-member voting committee was comprised of men's volleyball head coaches and writers from around the nation.
Off the Block Preseason All-America Teams
Preseason First Team All-America
Setter: Micha Ma'a, UCLA
Setter: Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State
Opposite: Miles Johnson, Ohio State
Opposite: Ben Patch, BYU
Outside attacker: TJ DeFalco, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: Brenden Sander, BYU
Outside attacker: Nicolas Szerszen, Ohio State
Middle attacker: Jeff Jendryk, Loyola
Middle attacker: Mitch Stahl, UCLA
Libero: Evan Enriques, Stanford
Preseason Second Team All-America
Setter: Christy Blough, Ohio State
Opposite: Kyle Ensing, Long Beach State
Opposite: Jabarry Goodridge, NJIT
Opposite: Tamir Hershko, UC Irvine
Opposite: Mitch Perinar, Lewis
Outside attacker: Jake Arnitz, UCLA
Outside attacker: Jake Langlois, BYU
Outside attacker: Chris Nugent, Penn State
Middle attacker: Price Jarman, BYU
Libero: Johnny Gomez, George Mason
Libero: Andrew Sato, Long Beach State
Others Receiving Votes:
Leo Durkin, BYU
Enrique de Diego Garcia, Cal Baptist
Gabriel Domecus, Ohio State
Michael Saeta, UC Irvine
Stijn van Tilburg, Hawai'i
Blake Lesson, Ohio State
Brian Negron, George Mason
Jack Wilson, George Mason
Artur Cabral, Coker
Royce Clemens, Penn State
Kupono Fey, Hawai'i
Federico Pagliara, Barton
David Wiecsoreck, Pepperdine
Aleksa Brkovic, Barton
Ricky Gevis, Loyola
Davis Gillett, UCLA
Roberto Perez, Erskine
Joao Victor Santos, Coker
Jacob Schmiegelt, Lewis
Scott Stadick, UC Irvine
Matt Walsh, Ball State
Ackeem West, Emmanuel
Kekaulike Alameda, Barton
Andy Benesh, USC
Matt Callaway, Penn State
Jordan Ewert, Stanford
Vasilis Mandilaris, Barton
Brendan Schmidt, McKendree
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateMVBall.