Conference News
Penn State Splits Exhibition Matches With Southern
California
Nittany Lions record 16 aces and 19 blocks in late
contest
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa, Oct. 26, 2007 - The Penn State men's
volleyball team split a pair of preseason exhibition matches with
Southern California Friday at Rec Hall. The Trojans captured the
first match of the day in four games (25-30, 39-37, 31-29, 30-25)
while the Nittany Lions won the second match in four games (28-30,
30-17, 30-23, 30-26).
Redshirt junior opposite Ryan Sweitzer (Lancaster, Pa.) led Penn
State in the first match of the day with 13 kills as redshirt
freshman outside hitter Alan Mars (Rochester, N.Y.) posted 10
kills. Junior middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) contributed
eight kills in two games of action while redshirt junior middle
hitter Jon Sherrick (Mountville, Pa.) posted seven kills, freshman
outside hitter Thomas Luiz (Brasilia, Brazil) notched six kills and
redshirt freshman Jason Ambrose (Barrington, Ill.) provided five
kills.
Redshirt junior setter Travis Foltz (Westlake Village, Calif.)
dished out 46 assists and added eight digs while freshman libero
Jesse Wagner (State College, Pa.) provided a match-high 10
digs.
Holt led the Lions with six blocks as Sherrick added in five and
Mars, Foltz and freshman outside hitter Brad McCoy (Irvine, Calif.)
all provided four blocks. USC claimed the blocking battle, 15.0 to
13.5.
For the Trojans, Sean Dennis led the squad in the first match with
19 kills as Matt Pavlovich provided 15 and Tyler Stevens notched
14. Riley McKibbin dished out 56 assists and Stevens led the
defense with 1 digs. Dennis and Sean O'Connor each posted six
blocks in the match.
In the late match, junior outside hitter Matt Anderson (West
Seneca, N.Y.) led all players with 19 kills while Sweitzer added in
14 kills and sophomore middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville,
N.Y.) provided 11 kills on .600 hitting.
Senior setter Luke Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.) dished out 46
assists in the win while freshman libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa
Alta, Puerto Rico) led all players with 10 digs and redshirt junior
outside hitter Jay Stauffer (Columbia, Pa.) recorded seven
digs.
Penn State racked up 16 service aces in the contest, led by
Lipsitz and Anderson with four apiece, Holt and Murray with three
each and Sweitzer with two.
The Nittany Lions dominated the net, racking up 19.0 team blocks,
led by Lipsitz with 10. Holt and Stauffer each added in six stuffs,
Anderson and Murray provided five and Sweitzer chipped in four.
Juan Figueroa led the Trojans with 13 kills while Murphy Troy
contributed 10 and Andrew Vernon posted seven. Jimmy Killian dished
out 37 assists and Figueroa led the defense with six digs as Vernon
topped the blocking list with five stuffs.
The Nittany Lions open the season on the road at the Outrigger
Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii, taking on the host Warriors, UCLA
and Ball State Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 3-5. Penn State opens its
home schedule the following weekend at Rec Hall, hosting Lewis on
Friday, Jan. 11 at 7:00 p.m. at Rec Hall.
The EIVA Quarterfinals will be held on Saturday, April 19, with
the top two seeds earning a bye, before the EIVA Semifinals and
Championship will be held on Thursday and Saturday, April 24 and 26
on the campus of the top seed.
UC Irvine will host the 2008 National Collegiate Championship on
Thursday and Saturday, May 1 and 3 at the Bren Center in Irvine,
Calif.