UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., February 22, 2007 ¨C The fifth-ranked Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team (7-2, 3-0) travels to EIVA opponent Princeton (4-4, 2-1) for a Tait division matchup on Friday, Feb. 23 at 7:00 p.m.

Previewing Penn State
The Nittany Lions enter the match with a 7-2 overall record and a 3-0 mark in the EIVA after sweeping MIVA-foe Ball State (30-19, 30-25, 30-22) last weekend at home. Senior outside hitter Alex Gutor (Kiev, Ukraine) leads the team and ranks seventh in the nation with 5.00 kills per game as sophomore outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) posts 4.45 kpg, good for 14th in the country, and sophomore middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) chips in 2.79 kpg. Junior setter Luke Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.) dishes out 13.21 assists per game (seventh nationally) as senior libero Ryan Walthall (Irvine, Calif.) tops the team and sits fifth in the country with 2.76 digs per game. Holt heads the blocking charts with 1.10 blocks per game as Murray and freshman middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) contribute 0.79 bpg and Anderson adds in 0.76 bpg. As a team, Penn State is hitting .332, good for eighth in the country, with 16.41 kills per game, 1.62 service aces per game, 9.97 digs per game and 2.52 blocks per game.

Scouting Princeton
The Tigers enter the weekend with a 4-4 record and a 2-1 EIVA record after defeating both NYU (26-30, 33-31, 30-27, 31-29) and Rutgers-Newark (30-24, 30-26, 28-30,30-24) in four games. Junior outside hitter Peter Eichler and freshman outside hitter Carl Hamming lead the team with 3.83 and 3.24 kills per game, respectively, as sophomore setter Brandon Denham dishes out 12.62 assists per game. Six players average more than 1.00 digs per game, led by Eichler with 1.92 dpg. Sophomore middle hitter Mike Vincent tops the blocking list with 1.03 blocks per game. As a team, Princeton is hitting .228 with 14.50 kills per game, 1.03 service aces per game, 8.50 digs per game and 2.06 blocks per game.

The Series: Penn State vs. Princeton
Penn State leads Princeton, 31-2, in a series that began in 1977. The last meeting was a three-game Lion victory (30-22, 30-22, 30-27) on April 1, 2006, in Princeton, N.J.

For more information on the Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.