UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Two Penn State men's volleyball players were awarded individual honors for their play in last weekend's series at No. 15 George Mason. Junior opposite Cal Fisher was named Off the Block National Opposite of the Week and redshirt junior Will Bantle earned EIVA Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
Fisher led the Nittany Lions with 11 kills in last Friday's 3-0 sweep of the Patriots before reaching 21 kills for the third time in his career in Saturday's 3-2 loss. Fisher hit .355 for the weekend and had six service aces, upping his nation-leading total to 43 on the 2021 season.
The Pittsburgh native has been Penn State's top point scorer this season with 263.5 points and 211 kills in 2021. When Fisher has double-digit kills in a match this season, Penn State is 14-1.
Fisher was named AVCA National Player of the Week and EIVA Offensive Player of the Week March 22.
Bantle continues to be a consistent performer for Penn State's defense in 2021 and picked up his first weekly conference award this season. Bantle led the Nittany Lions with 24 digs over both matches in Fairfax, including tying his career high with 19 digs in Saturday's tilt.
Bantle also was 28-29 on serve receive for the weekend and has a .944 serve-receive percentage for the season on a team-high 304 attempts. His six assists in Saturday's match were also a single-match best for his career.
Bantle last won EIVA Defensive Player of the Week Jan. 20, 2020 after reaching 19 digs in a match for the first time Jan. 18 at No. 5 Lewis.
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