EIVA honors Murray as player of the week
Penn State junior men's volleyball setter Luke Murray has been named the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Player of the Week, conference officials announced. It is the first career honor for Murray and the second conference accolade for the Nittany Lions this year, as senior outside hitter Alex Gutor was honored last week.
Murray led the Penn State squad to three key EIVA victories last week to secure the Lions' lead atop the conference. Versus local rival Juniata on Tuesday, all five starting hitters provided five or more kills as the team attacked at a season-best .432 clip. Against No. 15 Saint Francis, Murray directed the offense to a .396 hitting percentage as again all five hitters provided five or more kills at a better than .340 clip, while himself racking up five digs and three blocks.
On Saturday versus George Mason, Murray directed one of the best matches of his Penn State career as the team hit .432 in the four-game win, with four players reaching double-digit kills. Individually, he also recorded three kills and eight digs - second on the team - while providing two blocks.
For the week, Murray averaged 13.00 assists per game, 1.50 digs per game and 0.70 blocks per game while leading the team to a combined .354 hitting percentage through three matches.
Lions' Fritz honored for career-high jump
Sophomore Ryan Fritz has been named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week, announced by conference offices on Tuesday. Fritz cleared a career-best 7-2.5 in the high jump at last weekend's Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup. The mark is also an NCAA provisional qualifying performance.
Fritz's performance is currently tied for the eighth-best mark in the NCAA, and is the highest clearance in the Big Ten by an inch and a half. Fritz's career best and event win helped the Nittany Lions to a second-place finish in last weekend's team standings, ahead of 11 teams including Kent State, Akron, and Virginia Tech.
The sophomore, who was the Big Ten runner up in 2006, has been on fire the past few weekends, clearing 7-foot-1 to finish second at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Feb. 3. Fritz was second only to Texas' Andra Manson, the top ranked jumper in the country this year
Kinley rewarded for strong bat at classic
Penn State sophomore outfielder Danielle Kinley has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week after a standout performance at the Carolina Classic last weekend. It is the first career honor for Kinley and the Nittany Lion softball team this season.
Kinley led the Nittany Lions to a 3-1 record and a second place finish in the Carolina Classic last weekend. She batted .727 (8-for-11) with three doubles and six RBI to earn All-Tournament accolades.
With her perfect 5-for-5 performance against North Carolina, she broke the school record for hits in a game. The previous high was four. Kinley's slugging percentage was an outstanding 1.000. She went 3-for-3 with the bases loaded and 5-for-6 (.833) in RBI opportunities.
As a freshman last season, Kinley was a second team All-Big Ten selection after hitting 23 RBI, 11 of which came in conference play. She led the team in batting average (.354) in Big Ten games.
Lady Lions-Buckeyes moved to 8 p.m. start
The Penn State at Ohio State women's basketball game has been selected as the Big Ten's first "wildcard" television match-up of the season.
In order to accommodate the live broadcast on Comcast SportsNet-Chicago, the tip-off time has been changed to 8 p.m.
The Lady Lions will have 13 television appearances this season, including five appearances on the Big Ten women's basketball package.
