UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 4, 2006 - Senior men's volleyball player Matt Proper (Guys Mills, Pa.) was named a second team All-America selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), it was announced Wednesday night at the NCAA Championship banquet at the Mt. Nittany Club at Beaver Stadium. Proper earns his second national postseason honor, as he was also a second team selection last year.

Proper, who leads the team and ranks 16th in country in kills per game (4.19), has led the Penn State squad in kills 17 times this year. He has 22 double-digit kill matches, including five contests with 20 or more kills. Proper also has at least one dig in every match of the season, including his first double-double of the year with 21 kills and 10 digs at Ball State on April 15. An all-around player, Proper also has at least one block in 26 of 28 matches and leads the team with 32 service aces, including nine multiple-ace matches.

The fourth-seed in the National Collegiate Championship, Penn State (20-8) faces top-seed UC Irvine (27-4) tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET. The 6:00 p.m. match pits No. 2 seed UCLA (24-12) against No. 3 seed IPFW (23-6). The winners square off for the national championship title on Saturday, May 6 at 7:00 p.m. Both of the semifinal matches will be aired live on ESPNU with the first semifinal match also being aired on ESPN2 tonight at 11:00 p.m. ET and the second semifinal being shown on ESPN2 tomorrow (Friday) at noon. The national title match will be aired live on ESPN2.

For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team and the National Collegiate Championship, please visit GoPSUsports.com/volleyballM/NCAA_2006