? Match Notes
? EIVA Championship Central

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., April 26, 2006 - University Park, Pa., April 26, 2006 ¨C The 11th-ranked and top-seeded Nittany Lion men¡¯s volleyball team will host the EIVA Championship on Thursday and Saturday, April 27 and 29 at Rec Hall. The Thursday semifinals feature a matchup between St. Francis (Pa.) and No. 12 George Mason beginning at 5:00 p.m., with Penn State and Rutgers-Newark squaring off at 7:30 p.m. The winners of each of the semifinal matches will advance to the EIVA Championship Final, to be held Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and broadcast live on CSTV.

The winner of the EIVA Championship will join the league winners from the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and one at-large team selected by the NCAA Championship committee at the National Collegiate Championship hosted by Penn State on May 4 & 6.

Tickets for the EIVA Championship are $5 for adults, $3 for youth and senior citizens and $2 per person for groups of 10 or more. Penn State students are free with their university ID. Tickets will be available at the Rec Hall ticket office beginning at 4:00 p.m. on April 27 and 5:45 p.m. on April 29. National Collegiate Championship tickets will also be on sale at the Rec Hall ticket office throughout the EIVA Championship.

Previewing Penn State
The Nittany Lions enter the EIVA Semifinal match with an 18-8 overall record and the top seed in the EIVA Championship. Senior Matt Proper leads the squad with 4.23 kills per game as five other players average more than two kills per game, including junior outside hitter Alex Gutor (2.68 kpg), senior outside hitter Kevin Wentzel (2.53 kpg), freshman outside hitter Matt Anderson (2.48 kpg), senior middle hitter Nate Meerstein (2.47 kpg) and freshman middle hitter Max Holt (2.13 kpg).

Senior setter Dan O¡¯Dell directs the offense with 9.81 assists per game and junior libero Ryan Walthall contributes 1.98 digs per game. Junior Aaron Smith, who is averaging 2.23 digs per game, also returns to the squad after sitting out for a violation of team rules.

Holt and Meerstein top the blocking list with 1.20 blocks per game and 1.12 blocks per game, respectively, as Proper chips in 0.76 blocks per game and Anderson adds 0.69 blocks per game.

As a team, Penn State is hitting .336 with 15.82 kills per game, 1.29 service aces per game, 8.39 digs per game and 3.04 blocks per game.

The Series
? Penn State leads the overall series with Rutgers-Newark, 75-23. The Nittany Lions have taken both of the contests this year between the two teams. Penn State won in four games at home on Feb. 24 (30-15, 30-23, 28-30, 30-17) and also came out on top in four in Newark, N.J., on March 31 (28-30, 30-27, 30-25, 30-26).

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