Penn State Men’s Volleyball’s Ryan Merk Wins EIVA Defensive Player Of The Week Honors
Penn State Men’s Volleyball’s libero Ryan Merk was named the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week, the association announced Monday. It’s the seventh time Merk has earned the award in his career, and the third time this season.
𝟳𝙭 𝙀𝙄𝙑𝘼 𝘿𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠
— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) March 16, 2026𝟯 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣
2.57 digs/set, 39-40 serve receive
10 digs in three sets at No. 5 USC#WeAre pic.twitter.com/FwBJEXh7mY
The redshirt senior earned the award after two impressive performances against two top-10 opponents last week. In the Nittany Lions’ match against No. 6 Pepperdine, Merk recorded eight digs and allowed just one ace on 25 serve receptions.
Later in the week, Merk recorded 10 digs in just three sets against No. 5 USC. His 10 digs mark the sixth time this season that Merk has tallied 10 or more digs in a match.
Across the week, Merk averaged 2.57 digs per set and a 39-40 serve receive. Merk now leads the EIVA in digs per set with an average of 2.32 this season.
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