Volleyball: Men's
Men's volleyball bold predictions
The Penn State men's volleyball team is on the road again this weekend in North Jersey. It faces NJIT tonight and Rutgers-Newark tomorrow. Here are our bold predictions for the weekend.
John Stuetz
Player of the weekend: Nick Goodell
Bold prediction for NJIT match: Look for redshirt freshman Nick Goodell to jump out of his three-match midseason slump. Although he’s hit under .200 in three straight matches (including a sub-.100 performance at St. Francis), I predict the opposite to come out with avengence and hit over .500 vs. NJIT, as he gets back into a groove this weekend.
Bold prediction for Rutgers-Newark match: Setter Eddie Goas will tally three kills. Although, as the main distributor on the team, he’s averaged just 1.18 kills per match, he’s increased this average as the year has gone on. Surprising defenses with a second-touch attack is used by West Coast setters often. Watch for Goas to attempt kills more and more as the year goes on.
Kevin Byrne
Player of the weekend: Peter Russell
Russell missed last week’s game against Saint Francis due to suspension and will be eager to get back on the floor and make an impact.
Bold Prediction for NJIT: The Nittany Lions will lose a set. Yes, I said it. Penn State will lose a set in EIVA action for the first time this year. My guess is it will be in the third when the Lions have removed some of their starters. NJIT nearly won the third set against Penn State but the Lions made a late comeback to win 25-23.
Bold Prediction for Rutgers-Newark: The Lions will set a season high in blocks. Blocking has been an issue all season for Penn State and against a team like Rutgers-Newark that has smaller middle hitters, they should really have no problem getting blocks. Rutger-Newark has three players that stand six-foot-five. I expect freshman Aaron Russell to continue his strong play and have a big game blocking the ball. Penn State had 7.5 blocks against Rutgers-Newark when they met at Rec Hall earlier this season.
The Lions’ season high is currently at 11.5 blocks which they recorded against Mount Olive on Feb. 3 so I don’t think 12 or 13 is out of the question.
Jake Somerville
Player of the weekend: Nick Goodell
After some struggles over the past two weeks Goodell will return to form against weaker EIVA competition
Bold Prediction for NJIT: No service errors through the first set.
The Lions have been up and down with their serving, but started out well last week opening with a 6-0 run. Solid serving from Nick Turkoand Edgardo Goas will set the pace early for a good serving match for the Lion's.
Bold Prediction for Rutgers-Newark: Over .500 hitting percentage for the team.
Last time the Lions took on Rutgers-Newark, they hit an astounding .475. They will step it up a level after already seeing this team and will hit above .500 in each set.