Conference News
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Matt Anderson
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Anderson Named AVCA National Co-Player of the Year
Junior outside hitter earns second-ever honor for the
Nittany Lions
IRVINE, Calif. - Penn State men's volleyball
junior outside hitter Matt
Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) added another award to his long
list of accolades as he was named the 2008 AVCA National Co-Player
of the Year. Anderson shares the award with Long Beach State's Paul
Lotman. The announcement was made Wednesday night at the annual
Men's Volleyball All-America banquet in Irvine, Calif., held in
conjunction with the NCAA Championship.
Anderson becomes only the second player in program history, and the
second-ever non-MPSF player, to be named the AVCA National Player
of the Year. He joins former Lion standout Ivan Contreras, who
earned both distinctions in 1997. A 6-10 outside hitter for the
top-ranked and top-seeded Penn State program, Anderson led the EIVA
Champion squad with 5.64 kills per game on .390 hitting. Named the
EIVA regular-season Player of the Year and Championship Most
Outstanding Player, he has double-digit kill numbers in 28 of 29
contests, including eight matches with 20 or more kills.
Anderson earned AVCA All-America honors earlier in the week,
joining teammate and junior middle hitter Max
Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) on the first team while senior setter
Luke
Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.), sophomore middle hitter Max
Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) and freshman libero Dennis
Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) all picked up AVCA Second
Team All-America honors. The Lions' five All-America awards led the
nation and are the most for the Nittany Lions since the 1982
season.
For the first time in school history, the top-ranked Penn State
men's volleyball team earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA
Championship. The Nittany Lions (28-1) faced No. 7 and
fourth-seed Ohio State. The win over Ohio State means
Anderson and Penn State will play in the NCAA National Championship
Match.