UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's volleyball team had five individuals earn EIVA conference awards for their personal performances in the 2019 regular season, as announced by the conference office Tuesday morning.
Jason Donorovich was named to the All-EIVA First Team, Henrik Falck Lauten, Matthew McLaren and Will Bantle received All-EIVA Second Team honors, and Brett Wildman was given an All-EIVA Honorable Mention for the Nittany Lions. Falck Lauten was also named the EIVA's Newcomer of the Year.
Penn State's five individual winners mark the most the Nittany Lions have had since the 2014 season when they had six award winners.
"You can see the range and variety of players that have won awards for us and that is pretty special," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "To have three first-year players in Henrik, Will and Brett each win goes to show the kind of talent they have to succeed early on in their time here. This is also Jason's first full season as a middle blocker, so to have the year he did is outstanding. Finally, Matt's work ethic has culminated in awards the past two seasons and goes to show what a great career he has put together for himself. I'm really proud of our guys."
In his first full season as the starting middle blocker for the Nittany Lions, Donorovich emerged as one of the top middles both in the conference and in the country. The redshirt junior finished second in the EIVA with a .373 hitting percentage while putting down 165 kills.
The Lockport, N.Y., native led the Nittany Lions in service aces with 33, also good for sixth in the conference. Defensively, Donorovich's team-leading 80.0 blocks (14 solo, 66 assist) have anchored the Nittany Lions to another strong showing in the EIVA.
Donorovich won both EIVA Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors this season. His defensive award on Jan. 28 came after a pair of matches against McKendree and Lindenwood when he compiled 13 total blocks, including nine against Lindenwood. He won Offensive Player of the Week laurels on Feb. 18 after recording a single-game best 13 kills versus Harvard at a .688 clip (13-2-16), followed by another personal best with four service aces against Sacred Heart.
Falck Lauten was tabbed as a player to watch in the preseason EIVA Coaches' Poll and he proved to be just that in his first season of Division I action with the Nittany Lions. The redshirt junior outside hitter led Penn State with 236 kills and 282.0 points to go with a .247 hitting percentage. His 236 kills ranked sixth in the EIVA.
The Drammen, Norway, native also sported a well-rounded defensive game with 131 digs, a .935 serve-receive percentage (481 of 514), and 49 totals blocks (seven solo, 42 assists).
Some of Falck Lauten's best individual efforts this season included a season-best 18 kills with a .538 hitting percentage and eight digs March 2 against NJIT and a double-double (11 kills, 10 digs) Feb. 2 at Loyola Chicago.
Falck Lauten was named the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week March 25 after gathering eight digs and 16-of-17 serve reception opportunities in a 3-0 sweep of Ohio State.
McLaren followed up his 2018 All-EIVA First Team nod with another conference award on the 2019 second team thanks to another solid offensive season. The redshirt senior ranked second on team with 233 kills while leading the team with 2.81 kills per set. Those numbers were even better in conference play, as McLaren paced the Nittany Lions with 115 kills and 3.59 kills per set.
The Aurora, Colorado, native also lead his squad with 15 double-digit kill matches this season. His top offensive match came March 29 at Harvard when he posted a season-best 18 kills while hitting .500 (18-3-30). McLaren was named EIVA Offensive Player of the Week April 1.
Bantle was given the tall task of being the primary libero in his first year of action this season and put together a rock-solid campaign in his first year as a starter. The redshirt freshman topped Penn State and finished tied for second in the EIVA with 149 digs despite missing the last four matches due to injury. He also had a team-high 510 serve receptions and had a .941 serve-receive percentage (510 of 542).
The Pacific Palisades, California, native also progressed as a passer with 46 assists and even snuck in a pair of libero kills to his name. Bantle had at least four digs in 22 of his 24 matches played this year.
Finally, Wildman showed steady improvement in his true freshman season and has earned a position as one of the Nittany Lions' primary scorers in the second half of the year. Wildman posted 149 kills and 24 service aces this season and started 13 matches, including the final 11 regular season bouts.
The Virginia Beach native completed the regular season with at least seven kills in seven of the last nine and no fewer than 11 kills in four of the last five matches. Wildman's breakout performance of 2019 came at USC March 8 when he posted a personal-best 16 kills against the Trojans.
The Nittany Lions head to their 42nd-consecutive conference postseason this week at Princeton in the EIVA Tournament April 18-20. Third-seeded Penn State takes on number two George Mason in the semifinals 5 p.m. on Thursday for a chance at the EIVA title Saturday at 7 p.m.
For more information on Penn State men's volleyball, follow the Nittany Lions on Twitter @PennStateMVBALL and Instagram @pennstatemvball and "like" the Penn State men's volleyball page on Facebook.
