University Park, Pa, April 24, 2006 ¨C Five Penn State men¡¯s volleyball players have been named EIVA All-East, league officials announced. Freshman middle hitter
Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio), senior middle hitter
Nate Meerstein (Pittsburgh, Pa.), senior setter
Dan O¡¯Dell (Rochester, N.Y.) and senior opposite
Matt Proper (Guys Mills, Pa.) were all tabbed as first team selections while freshman outside hitter
Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) picked up second team honors.
The accolades push Penn State¡¯s number of all-time All-East selections to 147 since 1972.
George Mason¡¯s Shaun Powell was named the Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year as his teammate Bryan Newcomb was tabbed the EIVA Newcomer of the Year. St. Francis¡¯ Mike Rumbaugh picked up EIVA Coach of the Year honors.
Holt picks up his first EIVA postseason award after leading the Nittany Lions in blocking in 14 matches with an average of 1.20 blocks per game. Named the EIVA Player of the Week on March 21, Holt ranks second on the squad with a .419 hitting percentage and had seven double-digit kill matches, including posting a career-high 18 kills on .536 hitting at Ball State on April 15 to end the regular season. Holt has recorded at least one block in every match of the season, including posting five or more blocks on 13 occasions.
Meerstein earns his third First Team All-East selection after leading the Nittany Lions with a .467 hitting percentage and was second on the squad with 1.12 blocks per game. Ranking fourth all-time on Penn State¡¯s career total blocks list (435), he also sits second all-time on the career block assist chart (393), surpassing Ramon Hernandez (1991-94) with his seven blocks at Ball State on April 15. Meerstein, a 2005 AVCA First Team All-American, is hitting .497 for his career (881-165-1,441), which ranks him second all-time and this season he has had eight matches with 10 or more kills, including a career-high 21 against Ohio State on Jan. 20.
O¡¯Dell garners his fourth EIVA All-East honor, as he was selected second team his freshman season in 2003 and first team in each of the previous two years. Against Ball State on April 15, O¡¯Dell moved into second place on Penn State¡¯s career assist chart with 4,802 career assists. He has led the squad on 15 occasions and has also led the team in blocking three times. Named the Most Outstanding Player of the Springfield Hall of Fame Classic, O¡¯Dell sits tied for ninth with Jos¨¦ Qui?ones on the career block assists list with 291, also ranking eighth on the total blocks chart with 328.
Proper picks up his third First Team All-East honor after leading Penn State with 4.23 kills per game. A 2005 AVCA Second Team All-American and the EIVA Player of the Year a year ago, Proper was named the AVCA/Sports Imports Division I/II National Player of the Week on Feb. 6 after helping the Nittany Lions to wins over Juniata and No. 3 Long Beach State with an average of 4.38 kills per game on .509 hitting for the weekend. A two-time EIVA Player of the Week this year, Proper ranks seventh on Penn State¡¯s career total blocking list (345), fifth on the all-time block assists list (311) and third on the career service aces list (104).
Anderson earns his first EIVA postseason honor after aiding the team with an average of 2.48 kills per game, 1.23 digs per game and 0.69 blocks per game. He collected his first collegiate double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs against St. Francis on Feb. 17 and posted a career-high 17 kills against Ohio State on Feb. 10, also collecting a career-high nine blocks versus Long Beach State on Feb. 4.
The conference-champion Nittany Lions host the EIVA Championship Semifinals on Thursday, April 27 at Rec Hall. The 5:00 p.m. match features George Mason and St. Francis, with Penn State taking on Rutgers-Newark at 7:30 p.m. The semifinal winners square off on Saturday, April 29 at 7:15 p.m. live on CSTV for a berth in the National Collegiate Championship, also hosted by Penn State on May 4 and 6.
For more information on the Penn State men¡¯s volleyball team and the National Collegiate Championship, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.
2006 EIVA All-East
FIRST TEAM
Hudson Bates, George Mason (So., OH)
Max Holt, Penn State (Fr., MH)
Marc Honore, St. Francis (Jr., MH)
Nate Meerstein, Penn State (Sr., MH)
Bryan Newcomb, George Mason (Sr., S)
Dan O¡¯Dell, Penn State (Sr., S)
Shaun Powell, George Mason (Sr., Opp.)
Matt Proper, Penn State (Sr., Opp.)
Matt Steinfurth, George Mason (Sr., MB)
Graham Sheppard, George Mason (Jr., Libero)
SECOND TEAM
Matt Anderson, Penn State (Fr., OH)
Jeremy Barndt, Juniata (Jr., MH)
Shane Conley, St. Francis (Fr., S)
Jon Daley, E. Stroudsburg (So., MH)
Jim Fazzini, St. Francis (Sr., OH)
Brian Honsberger, Rutgers-Newark (Sr., MH)
Eric Honsberger, Rutgers-Newark (Jr., OH)
Nate Ocasio, Juniata (Jr., OH)
Eduardo Welter, NJIT (So., OH)
Zach Nanni, St. Francis (Jr., Libero)
