Lion Career
2006 (Junior): Played in 86 games and 29 of 30 matches, averaging 2.73 kills per game on .304 hitting with 0.86 digs per game and 0.47 blocks per game ... recorded at least one kill in 25 matches, including posting double-digit kills in 11 matches and eight of the last 13 contests ... led the team in kills on three occasions ... fell just shy of tying his career high with 22 kills on .474 hitting at Rutgers-Newark (3/31) ... also posted 21 kills in the season-opening contest with Saint Francis (1/12) and tallied 20 at Ohio State (4/4) ... recorded 13 service aces for the season, with four matches of two or more aces ... tied his career-best with three aces against Rutgers-Newark (4/27) ... posted two double-doubles for the year, notching 10 kills and 10 digs against Ohio State (3/22) and recording 20 kills and 11 digs versus the Buckeyes in Columbus (4/4), which also was a career high for digs ... posted 40 total blocks for the year, including a career-best six at Ohio State (4/4) and five versus Ball State (1/14).

2005 (Sophomore): NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team ... Second Team All-EIVA ... played in 33 of 34 matches and 101 of 122 games of the season ... ranked third on the team in kills with 308, an average of 3.05 kills per game ... posted at least five kills in 25 matches ... had 15 double-digit kill contests, including 10 of the first 12 matches of the year ... recorded a career-high 23 kills at Ohio State (1/29) and hit for a career-best .636 (8-1-11) attack percentage against Mount Olive College (2/11), a team that was coached by his father, Sasha ... had 24 service aces, good for third on the team ... posted 116 digs for the year, an average of 1.15 digs per game, good for third on the team ... had at least 28 matches with one or more digs and 13 matches with five or more digs ... tallied 60 total blocks, an average of 0.59 blocks per game ... posted a career-high five stuffs against Brigham Young (1/6).

2004 (Freshman): EIVA Newcomer of the Year ... Second Team All-EIVA ... played in 72 games and 27 matches ... averaged 2.29 kills per game, good for fifth on the team ... ranked third on the squad with 19 service aces ... recorded nine double-digit kill matches, including five of the last eight contests of the year ... posted a career-high 15 kills at Rutgers-Newark (3/26) and against versus the Scarlet Raiders in the EIVA Championship Final (5/1) ... ended the season hitting .271 ... recorded first career double-double against IPFW (4/16) with 11 kills and 10 digs ... hit .440 (14-3-25) versus Springfield (4/3) ... tallied a career-high five blocks against Sacred Heart (4/24).

High School
Named Most Valuable Player at Greenhill Academy (Irving, Texas) ... a two-time All-SPC honoree ... named a "Fab 50" selection by Volleyball Magazine ... Texas High School Player of the Year in 2003 ... was a member of the Addison Volleyball Club in Addison, Texas.

Personal
Born Oleksiy Oleksandrovich Gutor on April 20, 1984 in Kiev, Ukraine ... parents are Iryna Dolgikh and Oleksander Gutor ... mother was a world-champion fencer and is currently a fencing coach at Cornell ... father was a professional volleyball player in the U.S.S.R. and was an eight-year starter on the national team, is now the head men's and women's volleyball coach at Mt. Olive College in North Carolina ... has one sister, Ellen (23) ... names the Dallas Mavericks as favorite professional sports team ... majoring in Supply Chain and Information Systems with minors in economics, Russian and Information Systems and Statistical Analysis.

Quoting Coach Pavlik
"Alex will be asked to carry an offensive load this season and is ready to improve on last year's performance. Penn State fans are familiar with his emotional play and he will be counted on to score points for us this year. As a captain he will help guide this team as it navigates the ups-and-downs of the season."