2006-07 News Archives

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Penn State Men's Volleyball Downs Saint Francis, 3-1

Nittany Lions clinch 23rd regular-season conference title

Host EIVA Championship April 26 & 28

LORETTO, Pa., March 31, 2007 - Behind a career-high 29 kills from senior Alex Gutor (Kiev, Ukraine), the sixth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team clinched its 23rd regular-season league title with a four-game win over Saint Francis (30-28, 30-25, 30-32, 30-24) Saturday night in Loretto, Pa. The Nittany Lions improve to 17-5 overall and 10-0 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tait division while the Red Flash fall to 13-9 and 6-4 in conference action.

With the win, Penn State has earned the right to host the EIVA Championship semifinals and final, slated for Thursday and Saturday, April 26 and 28 at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions also have earned a bye in the EIVA quarterfinals (April 21), which is given to the top four teams in the league. The winner of the EIVA Championship Final on Saturday, April 26 earns a bid to the National Collegiate Championship semifinal match, hosted by Ohio State on Thursday, May 3 at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The winners of each of the national semifinal matches square off for the national title on Saturday, May 5.

Sophomore Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) provided 14 kills for the Nittany Lions versus the Red Flash and freshman Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) posted 13 put-aways on .632 hitting. Senior Aaron Smith (Forest, Va.) notched seven kills and sophomore Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) contributed six.

Junior setter Luke Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.) dished out 58 assists as senior libero Ryan Walthall (Irvine, Calif.) provided a match-high 13 digs and Anderson chipped in seven.

Behind the service line, Penn State racked up 11 aces as Anderson tied the school record with six, a mark also currently held by Smith and Holt. Holt fell just shy of the mark with four winners as Smith provided one.

Holt led the Lion blocking front with four stuffs as Smith tallied three and Lipsitz and Murray each notched two.

Jordan Varee headed the Saint Francis offensive attack with 25 kills as Marc Honore posted 16. Shane Conley dished out 49 assists and Zach Nanni produced 12 digs. Honore also led the blocking list with seven stuffs.



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2006-07 News Archives 2005-06 \| 2006-07 \| 2007-08 \| 2008-09 Penn State Men's Volleyball Downs Saint Francis, 3-1 Nittany Lions clinch 23rd regular-season conference title Host EIVA Championship April 26 & 28 LORETTO, Pa., March 31, 2007 - Behind a career-high 29 kills from senior Alex Gutor (Kiev, Ukraine), the sixth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team clinched its 23rd regular-season league title with a four-game win over Saint Francis (30-28, 30-25, 30-32, 30-24) Saturday night in Loretto, Pa. The Nittany Lions improve to 17-5 overall and 10-0 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tait division while the Red Flash fall to 13-9 and 6-4 in conference action. With the win, Penn State has earned the right to host the EIVA Championship semifinals and final, slated for Thursday and Saturday, April 26 and 28 at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions also have earned a bye in the EIVA quarterfinals (April 21), which is given to the top four teams in the league. The winner of the EIVA Championship Final on Saturday, April 26 earns a bid to the National Collegiate Championship semifinal match, hosted by Ohio State on Thursday, May 3 at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The winners of each of the national semifinal matches square off for the national title on Saturday, May 5. Sophomore Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) provided 14 kills for the Nittany Lions versus the Red Flash and freshman Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) posted 13 put-aways on .632 hitting. Senior Aaron Smith (Forest, Va.) notched seven kills and sophomore Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) contributed six. Junior setter Luke Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.) dished out 58 assists as senior libero Ryan Walthall (Irvine, Calif.) provided a match-high 13 digs and Anderson chipped in seven. Behind the service line, Penn State racked up 11 aces as Anderson tied the school record with six, a mark also currently held by Smith and Holt. Holt fell just shy of the mark with four winners as Smith provided one. Holt led the Lion blocking front with four stuffs as Smith tallied three and Lipsitz and Murray each notched two. Jordan Varee headed the Saint Francis offensive attack with 25 kills as Marc Honore posted 16. Shane Conley dished out 49 assists and Zach Nanni produced 12 digs. Honore also led the blocking list with seven stuffs.