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Lions ready to play in NCAA semifinal

STANFORD, Calif. Fifth-seeded No. 6 Penn State men’s volleyball (21-9) knocked off fourth-seeded Hawaii (24-7) in four sets (25-22, 25-20, 17-25, 27-25) Tuesday evening at Maples Pavilion.

With the victory, the Nittany Lions earned a spot in the NCAA national semifinals for the 17th consecutive season.

Penn State is set to square off against top-ranked Lewis (25-3) in the second semifinal match at 11 p.m. tonight. The winner of the matchup will advance to the NCAA national finals, meeting the winner of the Loyola-UC-Irvine matchup for the title.

Three Nittany Lions recorded double figure kills in the win, led by senior Aaron Russell, who tallied 20 kills, seven digs and four blocks. Redshirt senior Nick Goodell followed close behind with 19 kills on .378 hitting. Sophomore Chris Nugent rounded out the group with 15 kills, five digs and two blocks.

Senior Connor Curry anchored the defense with nine digs, while redshirt junior Matt Seifert added four blocks.

Knief, Jones hored

UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State softball junior outfielders Lexi Knief and Macy Jones were named second team All-Big Ten by the conference’s coaches on Wednesday.

Sophomore third baseman Shelby Miller was selected for the All-defensive team. Jones was also represented as the team’s sportsmanship award winner.

“We’re very pleased that the coaches recognized their hard work,” PSU coach Amanda Lehotak said. “Lexi and Macy have represented Penn State very well this year and they are only going to get better going into next year.”

Knief was selected as second team All-Big Ten for the second straight year. The junior is hitting a team-best .408 overall, including .448 in conference games. Knief also leads the team in hits (71), doubles (14), triples (four) and on-base percentage (.469).

Jones earned her first career All-Big Ten selection. The Ashburn, Va. native is batting .348, including .373 in Big Ten play. Jones has 56 hits, including nine doubles, two triples and 10 home runs. The junior is second on the team with 43 RBI, a .615 slugging percentage and .451 on-base percentage.

Jones has also had a solid season in the circle for Penn State, leading the team with a 3.66 ERA.

Miller has a .984 fielding percentage, with 50 putouts and 77 assists, as well as six double plays and only two errors. Miller has also had a strong season at the plate, hitting .333 with four homers and 33 RBIs.

Kidder excels

ROSEMONT, Ill. – After posting the NCAA-leading time in the 800-meter run this past weekend, Penn State junior Brannon Kidder has been named the Big Ten Men’s Track Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference office Wednesday afternoon. This is the fourth career award for Kidder.

At the Payton Jordan Invitational, Kidder placed second in the 800-meter run with his personal-best time of 1:45.58. With his time Saturday, he currently has the top performance in the NCAA this season and he ranks second all-time in the Penn State record books.

Kidder was also named the Big Ten Men’s Track Athlete of the Week earlier this season (April 8) after posting the then-No. 5 800-meter run time (1:47.14) in the NCAA at the season-opening Florida Relays.

The Nittany Lions host the Jim Thorpe Invite Friday at the Nittany Lion Outdoor Track. The Jim Thorpe will be the competition before the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships next week (May 15-17) in East Lansing, Mich.

Getting two recruits

UNIVERSITY PARK -Coach and director of Penn State cross country and track and field John Gondak announced the signing of Keianna Albury and Anton Porter.

Albury and Porter will enroll in classes starting this fall.

“We are extremely excited to announce the addition to two great sprinters to our program in Keianna Albury and Anton Porter,” Gondak said.

Albury is currently finishing her senior year of high school at St. Augustine’s College in Nassau, Bahamas, while Porter is wrapping up his senior year at Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx, N.Y. Albury and Porter both come to Penn State with great success during their time in high school.

Heading into this weekend, Albury currently has personal-best times of 11.56 (100) and 23.54 (200), while Porter has personal-best times of 6.93 (60), 10.51 (100) and 21.38 (200).

“Keianna has extensive experience on the international stage and brings fantastic credentials in the 100 and 200 to Penn State from the Bahamas,” Gondak said. “She competed for the Bahamas at the World Junior Championships this past summer and with her current personal bests would be one of the top sprinters in the Big Ten.”

Albury is a two-time (2012-13) winner of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations Most Outstanding Youth award and she also was named the Anita Doherty Junior Female Track Athlete of the Year in 2014.

At the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships, Albury finished third in the 100, won the 200 and ran on the third-place 4×100-meter relay.

This past April, she also competed at the 2015 Caribbean Free Trade Association Games.

At the meet, she placed second in the 100, third in the 200 and was a member of the runner-up 400-meter relay.

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