Conference News
Penn State Set to Face Stanford in NCAA National Championship
Penn State Set to Face Stanford in NCAA
National Championship
STANFORD, Calif., May 7, 2010 – The third-seeded and
12th-ranked Penn State men’s volleyball team (24-7) is set to
take on top-ranked, No. 1 seed Stanford in the NCAA National
Championship at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. The match is
slated for 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) and will air live on ESPN2.
Fans can also listen to the match live via Penn State All-Access or
in the State College area on WRSC-FM 103.1 with hosts Dean Devore
and Dr. Tom Tait. In addition, fans can continue to follow the
action of the team on its trip by following PSUvolleyball,
SusanPSUsports and MarkPavlik on Twitter.
Penn State Preview
The Nittany Lions enter the NCAA Championship match vs.
Stanford with a 24-7 overall record, after defeating Cal State
Northridge in three sets (30-21, 30-23, 30-28) in the NCAA
Semifinal on Thursday, May 6. Senior Will Price leads Penn State
with 4.52 kills per set and redshirt sophomore Edgardo Goas is
pacing the offense with 13.82 assists per set. Junior Dennis Del
Valle has a squad-leading 3.53 digs per set and senior Max Lipsitz
leads the Lions at the net with 1.44 blocks per set. As a team,
Penn State is hitting .330 with 16.48 kills per set, 1.33 aces per
set, 11.47 digs per set and 2.76 blocks per set.
Penn State vs. Stanford
The Nittany Lions lead the series with Stanford 5-2 and
have never met in the NCAA Tournament. The teams last met in
Springfield's Hall of Fame Classic on Feb. 11, 2006 with the Lions
winning, 3-0 (30-22, 30-26, 30-25).
Notes on the Cardinal
Stanford is making its first championship appearance since
1997. The Cardinal defeated Ohio State in the second NCAA Semifinal
three sets to none (30-25, 30-26, 30-17). Stanford is attacking at
a .353 clip for the season averaging 16.34 kills per set, 1.34 aces
per set, 11.34 digs per set and 2.34 blocks per set. Sophomore Brad
Lawson leads the Cardinal with 4.83 kills per set, while senior
Kawika Shoji paces the offense with 13.80 assists per set.
Sophomore Erik Shoji leads the team with 3.41 digs per set and
sophomore Gus Ellis has a team-best 1.20 blocks per set.











