Princeton, N.J., April 1, 2006 ¨C With a three-game victory over Princeton Saturday afternoon (30-22, 30-22, 30-27), the Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team claimed its 18th Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) regular-season title.

The Nittany Lions (15-7, 11-1) will receive a bye in the EIVA quarterfinals on April 22 and will host the conference tournament semifinals and championship, slated for Thursday and Saturday, April 27 and 29. Rec Hall will also host the National Collegiate Championship the following week, welcoming the conference tournament champions from each of the three leagues (EIVA, MIVA, MPSF) and one at-large team determined by the NCAA Committee. The National Semifinals are slated for May 4 at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., with the winners vying for the National Championship on May 6 at 7:00 p.m.

Against Princeton, senior middle hitter Nate Meerstein (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and freshman middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) each posted nine kills as seniors Matt Proper (Guys Mills, Pa.) and Andrew Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) and freshman Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) all recorded seven kills in the outing, with Proper¡¯s coming on a career-high 1.000 hitting percentage (7-0-7). Junior outside Alex Gutor (Kiev, Ukraine) contributed six kills. As a team, Penn State attacked at a .365 clip while holding Princeton to hitting .138.

Sophomore setter Luke Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.) and senior setter Dan O¡¯Dell (Rochester, N.Y.), who is returning from knee surgery, split time directing the office. Murray dished out 21 assists while O¡¯Dell provided 20.

The Nittany Lions won the battle from behind the service line, racking up eight aces to the Tigers¡¯ four. Proper tallied three winners as Gutor posted two and Holt, O¡¯Dell and Price all recorded one.

Each team posted nine team blocks as Meerstein led Penn State with four stuffs, Price added three and Holt and Murray chipped in two apiece.

The Nittany Lions return home to host Lewis in their last regular-season home contest on Saturday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. The Senior Night contest, honoring Dan O¡¯Dell, Matt Proper, Kevin Wentzel, Andrew Price and Nate Meerstein, will be televised live on WPSU-TV and on a tape-delay basis by CSTV.

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