UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State’s Matthew Luoma was named the EIVA Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Nittany Lions to a pair of wins over Saint Francis last week. It is the first career EIVA honor for the redshirt sophomore.
Luoma hit. 458 while averaging 4.50 kills and 1.17 blocks per set as the Nittany Lions swept the Red Flash both in Loretto and at Rec Hall. The weekend was highlighted by a career performance in the team’s home opener on Saturday. Luoma hit .640 with a career-high 18 kills, four blocks, three digs, and two aces. He had kills for the final three points of the final set and also came through with kills to end the first and second sets.
Luoma is the second Penn State player to earn an award from the EIVA this season. Will Kuhns was named the Offensive Player of the Week after the opening weekend of competition.
Penn State has won three consecutive matches and jumped one spot to No. 19 in the most recent edition AVCA Coaches Poll.
The Nittany Lions return to EIVA play with two matches at NJIT this week. The first match is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m., while the second is Saturday at 7 p.m. The Highlanders are 6-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference following a 3-1 loss to Princeton in their most recent match. They dropped out of the national rankings after being ranked No. 19 last week.