April 9, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- For the first time in his career, redshirt-sophomore Jason Donorovich (Lockport, N.Y.) has earned the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week award, announced the conference office on Monday (April 9).
Donorovich joins a trio of Nittany Lions to earn a weekly award from the EIVA, as Kevin Gear (Rochester, N.Y.) also has a defensive player of the week award to his name, earning his on Feb. 5, 2018. Setter Luke Braswell (Manchester, Pa.) and middle blocker Jalen Penrose (Cambridge, Mass.) have each earned offensive player of the week.
In a pair of EIVA road matches, Donorovich was strong at the net, posting 11.0 total blocks and two digs on the weekend. The redshirt-sophomore also added 12 kills to help Penn State to a 2-0 mark, including a win over EIVA-leading George Mason in front of a sold out crowd.
In Penn State's five-set victory at George Mason on Saturday, Donorovich piled up a career-high 10.0 total blocks, including three in the decisive fifth set. The 10.0 total blocks is tied for No. 7 in a single match this season and ranks No. 2 in the EIVA behind an 11.0-block match from Harvard's Riley Moore.
The redshirt-sophomore posted a career-high-tying two digs and added 1.0 block in the three-set win at Charleston (W.Va.) on Friday to help Penn State sweep a weekend road trip and end its four-match EIVA road swing with a 3-1 record.
Penn State will host its final two matches of the regular season, with Princeton coming to town for a 7 p.m. first server on Friday, April 13 and NJIT scheduled for a 7 p.m. match on Saturday, April 14. Saturday's match will serve as Senior Night for Penn State, so be sure to arrive early to honor our three seniors.