UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State men's volleyball team has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2013 EIVA title. The Nittany Lions picked up six first place votes from the league's eight head coaches. Penn State returns six players with starting experience from the 2012 squad, which advanced to the NCAA National Semifinals.
George Mason was picked to finish second in the league, while Princeton was slated third. Harvard was slotted at No. 4 and Saint Francis was picked to finish fifth to round out the top five schools. NJIT was ranked sixth, Sacred Heart seventh and Rutgers-Newark was eighth.
Returning starters for the Nittany Lions include redshirt freshmen Connor Curry (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Nick Goodell (Ambridge, Pa.), sophomore Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.), junior Peter Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) and seniors Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) and Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.). Other returning letterwinners include seniors Kyle Mars (Rochester, N.Y.) Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.), redshirt junior Scott Kegerreis (Honeybrook, Pa.) and sophomore Kyle Gregan (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Also joining the Nittany Lions on the court after redshirting 2012 are redshirt freshmen Taylor Hammond (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Matt Seifert (Reading, Pa.).
Head coach Mark Pavlik welcomes five newcomers to the Nittany Lion squad this season. Joining the Nittany Lions are freshmen Matt Callaway (Wheaton, Ill.), Zack Parik (Woodridge, Ill.), Andrew Roberts (Grantville, Pa.) and Spencer Sauter (Woodridge, Ill.) and junior Matt Kapusta (Bethel Park, Pa.).
Penn State opens the 2013 schedule at the Hawaii Outrigger Invitational on Jan. 10 against UCLA. The Nittany Lions host Lewis on Jan. 18 for their home opener at Rec Hall.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com.