UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State libero Ryan Merk was named the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, earning the award for the third time this season. The honor came after the Nittany Lions went on the road and recorded two five-set wins over George Mason in conference play.
Merk tallied double-digit digs in both victories over the Patriots, finishing with a season-high 14 on Friday before adding 12 more in the win on Saturday. He averaged 2.60 digs/set while helping hold the Patriots to .219 hitting over the two matches.
Merk, who is now a four-time Defensive Player of the Week honoree during his career, has seen plenty of success in his eight career matches against George Mason. The two recent wins marked the fifth and sixth times he reached double-digit digs against the Patriots.
Penn State has won six EIVA weekly awards this season, including four Defensive Player of the Week accolades (Merk three times and Will Kuhns once) and two Offensive Player of the Week honors (Kuhns once and Matthew Luoma once).
The Nittany Lions host Princeton for two huge matches this weekend at Rec Hall. The Tigers need just one win to clinch the EIVA regular season title and hosting rights for the conference tournament. The Nittany Lions can take the title with two wins to put the EIVA Tournament at Rec Hall for the fifth-straight year.