For the second year in a row, Penn State will matchup against Boston College in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Nittany Lions will host the Eagles on Nov. 28 in the Bryce Jordan Center, and Penn State is 5-6 all time in the event.
The conference challenge has been kind to Penn State in recent memory with the Lions being victorious in five of their last six Big Ten/ACC Challenge games. The most recent win came last November when Penn State traveled to Chestnut Hill and beat Boston College, 62-54.
Guards Tim Frazier and Jermaine Marshall each scored 22 points in the win and it was the team's only road victory of the season.
The Big Ten collected eight wins to the ACC's four last season and it was the third straight time the Big Ten won the event. However, the ACC still has the upper hand in the challenge historically, winning it the first 10 times it was played, starting in 1999.
Some highlights of the 2012 Big Ten/ACC Challenge include North Carolina visiting Indiana, NC State traveling to Michigan, and Duke hosting Ohio State.
Here is a full list of the twelve games:
Nov. 27
North Carolina @ Indiana
NC State @ Michigan
Minnesota @ Florida State
Maryland @ Northwestern
Iowa @ Virginia Tech
Nebraska @ Wake Forest
Nov. 28
Ohio State @ Duke
Virginia @ Wisconsin
Michigan State @ Miami
Purdue @ Clemson
Georgia Tech @ Illinois
Boston College @ Penn State
Penn State has reportedly landed Class of 2012 forward Donovon Jack.
A 6-foot-9 forward from Reading and former Duquesne commit, Jack reportedly gave a verbal commitment to Penn State and coach Patrick Chambers on Tuesday, according to the Reading Eagle.
Though he committed to Duquesne last fall, Jack was granted a release after the Dukes fired coach Ron Everhart in March after a 16-15 season.
According to Rivals.com, the Berks Catholic product also had offers from George Mason, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette and Vermont, and the Eagle said Jack had interest from at least 20 schools after leaving Duquesene.
Jack's pledge helps Chambers fill a spot on his roster for the 2012-13 season, but the coach still has more work to do in the 2012 class. Forward Billy Oliver announced the end of his playing career in February and guards Trey Lewis and Matt Glover decided to transfer in March, joining forward Peter Alexis, who announced his decision to leave the program during the season.
Jack, a two-star rated prospect according to Rivals, offers depth on what is, at the moment, still a thin roster.
Only eight scholarship players return for next season. Just two other recruits, Brandon Taylor and Akosa Maduegbunam, are signed to join in the 2012 recruiting class.
In the first semifinal match of the EIVA tournament in Rec Hall, George Mason (14-16, 9-6 in EIVA), the three seed, swept the two seed, Harvard (18-7, 10-5 in EIVA) 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-23).
Junior outside hitter Michael Kvidahl led the Patriots with 14 kills and a .370 hitting percentage. George Mason hit .311 overall, a step up from their season average of .219.
Senior outside hitter Matt Jones led the Crimson with the exact same attacking numbers as Kvidahl but as a team Harvard hit just .230.
George Mason, the leading blocking team in the EIVA, also out-blocked Harvard to the tune of 9-to-7.5.
Next up for George Mason will be a championship matchup against the winner of the Penn State- Princeton showdown at 8:00 p.m.
It's that time of year, folks. The moment you've all been waiting for.
The EIVA end of year tournament starts off tonight in Rec Hall at 5:30 with Harvard taking on George Mason and is followed by Penn State taking on Princeton at 7:30.
It should be one of the more interesting tournaments in recent years as the conference has offered much more depth than usual this year.
A trip to the Final Four is on the line and it's safe to say there will be no shortage of intensity in the tournament's three sudden death matches.
Here are our three reporters' predictions regarding the tournament's outcome.
Kevin Byrne’s predictions:
(2) Harvard Vs. (3) George Mason
The Winner: George Mason in five sets.
The Patriots cruised to a three set victory at Harvard back on Feb. 20 and lost a tough five set match at home on March 2. These two teams are evenly matched and while Harvard has been the story of the EIVA this season with its resurgence, I think the Patriots can pull off the upset. The Patriots will be looking to avenge their March 2 loss when they blew a 2-1 lead in the match.
(1) Penn State vs. (4) Princeton
The Winner: Penn State in four sets.
The Nittany Lions handled the Tigers easily on Feb. 24 with a 3-0 sweep at home. It was a different story on the road on March 30 as the Lions barely won in five sets. In fact, Princeton had Penn State facing eight match points but couldn’t finish them off. No doubt the Tigers are confident they can play with Penn State but can they stay with them in Rec Hall in the most important time of the year? I don’t think so. Penn State is too deep and has too many weapons. Redshirt seniors Joe Sunder and Edgardo Goas haven’t come all this way to lose in the first round of the EIVA Tournament.
(1) Penn State vs. (3) George Mason
The Winner: Penn State in four sets.
The Patriots will be tough but in the end, they won’t deny the Nittany Lions a shot at their 14th consecutive EIVA championship and a trip to the Final Four. George Mason has some nice weapons in junior outside hitter Mark Jones and junior Michael Kvidahl, who are ninth and tenth respectively in kills, but they won’t be enough to beat Penn State. If Mason has any thoughts of winning, it will need to disrupt Penn State’s offense with its blocking, which finished first in the EIVA.
Penn State has been challenged in the EIVA this year, maybe more than it has in over a decade. They expect every team to bring their best, especially now that the playoffs have arrived. This is the moment all 17 of these players have been waiting for since the season began in January. I just don’t see them overlooking George Mason now when it matters most. It really shouldn’t matter what lineup Penn State coach Mark Pavlik puts on the floor, because every player on the team is capable of producing at a high level.
Wynton Jake Somerville’s Predictions:
(2) Harvard vs. (3) George Mason
Winner: Harvard wins in five sets.
Though the season series between these two teams is 1-1 and George Mason swept the Crimson earlier this season, tonight will be a different story. Harvard has proven all year that they are a force to be dealt with, with a huge upset victory over Cal-State Northridge and taking Penn State five sets. George Mason will play Harvard tough especially after a five set loss to Princeton put a bitter taste in their match, but will not top Harvard.
(1) Penn State vs. (4) Princeton
Winner: Penn State in three sets.
Even after Princeton took Penn State five sets in their last meeting, and are coming in off of a six match winning streak they will not match the physicality of Penn State. Penn State will remember the close match and will be looking to put down a confident Tigers squad quickly. With the leadership of Joe Sunder and Edgardo Goas, Penn State will roll.
(1) Penn State vs. (2) Harvard
Winner: Penn State in four sets.
Harvard will come out to win the first set, but in similar fashion to Princeton will be overwhelmed by Penn State’s physicality. Penn State will cruise to their 14th consecutive EIVA Tournament Championship.
John Stuetz’s predictions:
(2) Harvard vs. (3) George Mason
Winner: Harvard in five sets.
Other than a four-set loss at NJIT on April 13, Harvard has not had a bad loss all season. They are 18-5 overall and took Penn State to five sets AT Penn State. That’s unheard of folks. Look for Matt Jones to continue his dominant season in which he’s tallied 3.80 kills per set. Harvard in five.
(1) Penn State vs. (4) Princeton
Winner: Penn State in four sets.
It’s not gonna be easy, but I just can’t see Princeton beating the EIVA powerhouse, Penn State, or even taking the Lions to five sets like their last meeting. Penn State took care of business to the tune of a speedy sweep the last time these two teams met at home and, though I see Princeton stealing the first set, I expect the Lions to more or less control the match from there on. Look for Sunder to do what Sunder does: kills, kills, and some more kills. Penn State in four.
(1) Penn State vs. (2) Harvard
Winner: Penn State in five sets.
Similar to their last matchup in Rec Hall on April 7, I expect Harvard to put up a hefty fight. The Crimson have all the tools to push Penn State to the wire, even on the Lions’ home court. It will take a group effort for Penn State to pull this one out — look for Goodell to break out off the bench — but the 21-5 Lions have simply come too far to not make the trip to L.A. for the Final Four next weekend. Anything short of an EIVA tournament title would be nothing short of a failure for fifth-year seniors Eddy Goas and Joe Sunder and the rest of the Penn State gang. Penn State in five.
On Wednesday, Penn State (13-26) will travel to Kent, Ohio to take on Kent State (24-10) for a twin bill beginning at 3 p.m.
This past weekend, the Nittany Lions were able to score only one run in three games against Wisconsin, who showcased their ace Cassandra Darrah (18-7, 2.15) twice. This weekend, the Lions will look to their lineup led by Cassidy Bell to right the ship against Kent State’s dominant freshman Emma Johnson (13-11, 2.04).
Bell’s .364 BA towers above Kent State’s entire roster, and although the junior has played in just 21 games this season, her seven home runs match Kent State’s team-leader Abbey Ledford’s total, who has played 44 games.
Bell’s home run in the series-opener against Wisconsin accounted for Penn State’s lone run in the series, as she finished the series 3-for-7.
Kasie Hatfield, last week's Big Ten Player of the Week, cooled down in the Wisconsin series, finishing 1-for-7. However, she was 3-for-6 in the Kent State series last season.
Also, the Lions were able to put up a nine-spot against the Golden Flashes’ Danielle Abernathy last season, including a 2-run home run from Alyssa Sovereign. Abernathy (7-7, 3.46 this season) is likely to take the hill against the Lions again this series.
The Golden Flashes’ secret weapon against the Lions could be senior 1B Shannon Laughlin. Laughlin was struggling most of the season (.258, 4 HR, 22 RBI) before being named the MAC’s player of the week for her performance this past week, highlighted by six hits and seven RBI.
Kent State has traditionally been a matchup Penn State looks forward to, as they have defeated Golden Flashes in each of the past six contests. The last time the two linked up was last April, when Penn State toppled Kent State 4-2 in extra innings, which similarly helped the Lions snap a three-game losing streak.
This series marks the non-conference finale for both clubs. Penn State will finish the season with three favorable series against Illinois, Ohio State and Minnesota, all of whom share sub-.500 Big 10 records with Penn State.
The EIVA announced its regular-season awards Monday and six Penn State players have been honored.
Leading the way is redshirt senior outside hitter Joe Sunder, who was selected as the Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Sunder was also selected to the All-EIVA first team.
Sunder concluded the regular season in the top ten in several EIVA statistical categories.
He was second in hitting percentage (.333) tenth in digs (153) and digs per set (1.80). He was seventh in kills (297) and fourth in kills per set (3.49).
And most importantly, Sunder led Penn State to a perfect 14-0 regular season conference record.
There were three other Nittany Lions to join Sunder on the first team. Freshman middle hitter Aaron Russell, redshirt freshman libero Connor Curry and redshirt senior setter Edgardo Goas also were selected.
Junior middle hitter Nick Turko and redshirt freshman opposite Nick Goodell were named to the All-EIVA second team.
The Lions will begin defense of their EIVA championship this Thursday when they host Princeton in Rec Hall at 7:30.
The serve is one of the most vital elements to success in volleyball.
Serving sets the pace for a volley and and a well-placed serve can be a nightmare for even the best defenses in college volleyball.
Junior Nick Turko has been one of the top servers in volleyball this season, ranking fifth in the nation with .51 assists per set. He is the leading ace man on Penn State with 42 aces this season.
Turko, who is known for his ferocious jump serve as opposed to the softer jump serve, provided a few tips on his secrets to a successful serve. Turko emphasizes the importance of placement and speed to get the opposition out of position.
In the final regular-season home match of their careers, the four seniors on the Penn State men’s volleyball team made sure they would keep doing the one thing everyone knows them for so well: winning.
Penn State defeated Saint Francis, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-23), on Senior Night to move to 21-5 on the season. With the win, the No. 7 Nittany Lions completed a 14-0 EIVA regular season conference slate.
Before the match, seniors Joe Sunder, Ryan Wolf, Tor Covello and Edgardo Goas were honored for their contributions to the program in front of 1,203 patrons, the largest Rec Hall crowd of the season.
Joe Sunder led the way for Penn State with 12 kills on .364 hitting, but overall, it was a total team effort as 12 players saw game action and made contributions.
For Wolf, it was the most game action he had seen all season.
He replaced struggling sophomore Jace Olsen, who had a negative hitting percentage midway through the second set, and finished with six kills on 10 attempts for .500 hitting.
It wasn’t Penn State’s best hitting performance of the season, as the Lions hit just .283 for the match.
However, one area of the game that was strong for the Lions was their serving. The team recorded 10 service aces, with Goas and freshman Aaron Russell each finishing with three to lead the team.
“I thought there was some real good choices from our servers tonight to make sure [Saint Francis] handled the ball,” Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said.
Saint Francis was in the mix for the fourth and final playoff spot in the EIVA tournament but with its loss and Princeton’s win, Princeton eliminated the Red Flash from the tournament because they won four sets in the season series to Saint Francis’ three.
With Princeton’s victory in the back of their heads, the Red Flash came out and played the Lions tough because they knew a win would keep them out of the tiebreaker scenario.
But the struggles containing Penn State’s serve were too much for the Red Flash in the end.
“Our guys just can’t imitate [Penn State’s] serve at practice,” Saint Francis coach Mike Rumbaugh said.
Pavlik said he knew the match would be tough with Saint Francis fighting for its postseason life.
“We talked about trying to take their best shot early and I thought [Saint Francis] played pretty well,” Pavlik said.
In the third set, Pavlik pulled each of his seniors during separate breaks and the crowd cheered loudly to acknowledge them once more.
Covello got his first game action when he replaced Goas and he finished with six assists.
Now that the regular season has concluded, the next step for the Lions is hosting the EIVA Tournament, which begins next Thursday.
The Lions will face Princeton at 7:30 p.m. while second-seeded Harvard will face third-seeded George Mason in the first match at 5:30.
The Penn State men’s gymnastics team qualified for the team finals in the NCAA Championships.
The No.2 Nittany Lions are in Norman, Okla. to seek a national title this weekend. Today, they placed second in the session one qualifier round. This advances them to the team finals on Friday.
The Lions scored 353.00, right behind No. 8 Michigan, who scored 353.450. No.3 Stanford also moves on to Friday from the session one qualifier round.
Here are the highlights of the day:
-The Lions placed first overall in pommel horse (59.650) and still rings (60.150)
-Senior Warren Yang placed fifth on floor with a score of 15.100, while freshman Craig Hernandez placed ninth with a score of 14.950
-Hernandez placed first on the pommel with a score of 15.550 with second placed behind by a whole .500 of a point
-Sophomore Adrian Evans placed third on pommel with a score of 14.950, while junior Mackenzie Dow placed ninth on the event with a score of 14.650
-On rings, junior Scott Rosenthal and senior captain Miguel Pineda took the top two spots with scores of 15.550 and 15.400 respectively
-Junior Felix Aronovich placed fifth on rings with a score of 14.650. Redshirt sophomore Nihir Kothari was not far behind in seventh with a score of 14.550
-Freshman Tristan Duverglas placed seventh on vault with a score of 15.150, while junior Parker Raque finished ninth with a score of 14.900
-Dow also placed ninth on parallel bars with a score of 14.450, while Yang placed seventh with a score of 14.500
-Aronovich placed third on high bar with a score of 14.750 and Yang eighth with a score of 14.4 and Dow tenth with a score of 14.3
Look for the Lions Friday night as they compete in the NCAA team finals championships at 8 p.m. ET. The individual all-around champion will also be crowned that night.
The Nittany Lions are already accumulating awards Wednesday in Norman, Okla. and they haven’t even competed yet.
Head coach Randy Jepson was awarded with the 2012 Central Region Coach of the Year, while senior captain Miguel Pineda was distinguished as the Nissan Emery Award finalist at the NCAA/CGA Men’s gymnastics award banquet.
Both Jepson and Pineda have long lists of accomplishments, especially in this season alone. Here’s a little background, along with (only some) of their accomplishments.
Randy Jepson
Bit of background:
-Penn State alumnae (1982)
-Captain of the Nittany Lions gymnastics team in his era and an All-American on still rings
-A Nissan-Award nominee as a senior at Penn State
-Posted a perfect 10.0 on still rings in 1983 at Rec Hall
-Was assistant coach to former head coach Karl Schier for six seasons prior to taking his current position as head coach
This year:
-Undefeated at home
-Won 14th consecutive West Point Open title
-Established two of the nation’s highest team scores
-Posted a program record team score of 360.600
-Placed third at Big Ten Championships
-Ranked No.1 in the nation on pommel horse and still rings
-Crowned two individual Big Ten champions: junior Scott Rosenthal on still rings and freshman Craig Hernandez on pommel horse.
Overall by the numbers:
-21st year as head coach
-3 National Championships
-2 Big Ten titles
-3-time National Coach of the Year
-2-time Big Ten Coach of the Year
-33 All-Americans
-102 honors
-16 individual NCAA title winners
-20 individual Big Ten champions
-2 Nissan-Emery award winners
Miguel Pineda
Bit of background:
-From Galloway, Ohio
-Junior National Team member (2004-2007)
-Biology major
-Brother, Pedro, competed on Ohio State’s men’s gymnastics team from 2005-2007
This year:
-Penn State’s first finalist for the Nissan-Emery award since 2009
-Ranked No.4 in the nation on still rings
-Consistent contributor to vault and parallel bars.
-Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award recipient
-Penn State’s Ernest B. McCoy Award recipient
By the numbers:
-2-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recipient
-3-time CGA First Team All-American Scholar Athlete
-3.98 GPA (top one-half percent of his class)
-Capital One Academic All-America Men’s At-Large First Team
- NCAA Elite 88 Award recipient
The No.2 Penn State men's gymnastics team will begin its road to the NCAA title with qualifiers on Thursday scheduled at 2 p.m. ET.
