Feb. 13, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 14 Penn State men's volleyball will hit the road once again for an early week match against Saint Francis (Pa.) Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. ET.
PENN STATE vs. SAINT FRANCIS (Pa.)
In their last match up just 11 days ago, Penn State downed the Red Flash in straight sets in Rec Hall.
Saint Francis' Michael Fisher notched a match-best 18 kills, leading the Red Flash offense against Penn State last time the two teams matched.
Michael Fisher, Jeff Hogan and Stephen Braswell all rank in the top-six in kills in the EIVA. Fisher leads the pack with 166, Hogan ranks fourth with 152 while Braswell has amassed 131 and ranks sixth.
The trio has accounted for 360 kills or 74 percent of the SFU's kills. Hogan's 83 digs on the season ranks third in the EIVA.
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State is currently ranked in the top-25 in five different team categories including top-10 rankings in Digs Per Set - 9.00 (9th) and Assists Per Set - 11.87 (10th).
Individually, Chris Nugent is ranked 21st in the nation in Points Per Set (4.07) and 16th in the nation in Kills Per Set (3.68), while Kevin Gear is 24th in the nation in Blocks Per Set averaging 0.94.
Luke Braswell is eighth in the nation in Assists Per Set averaging 10.50 and Royce Clemens is ranked fifth in the nation in Digs Per Set averaging 2.63 per set.
NITTANY LIONS 13th IN LATEST AVCA POLL
Penn State (8-4, 3-0) moves up one spot from last week's rankings. The Nittany Lions are coming off a weekend against NJIT and Princeton that saw Penn State record wins in back-to-back nights defeating both opponents in five set thrillers to remain undefeated in conference play.
Defending national champions Ohio State remained the number one team in the nation receiving all 24 first-place votes with an unblemished record of 13-0, followed by Long Beach State at No. 2, BYU at No. 3, Hawai'i at No. 4 and UCLA rounding out the top-five.
Penn State travels to Saint Francis (Pa.) as Penn State look to remain undefeated in EIVA play Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. ET in Loretto, Pa.
PAVLIK KNOWS HOW TO WIN
In his 23rd year at the helm of the program, head coach Mark Pavlik has amassed over 500 wins. Pavlik currently stands at 530-166 for his career.
FRESH FACES ON THE COURT IN 2017
The defending EIVA regular season champion men's volleyball team returns a core group of eight letter winners and four starters this year, while welcoming five freshmen to the roster.
The new additions include 6-10 MB/OH Cameron Bartus from West Seneca, N.Y., Declan Pierce, a 5-10 Libero from Buffalo, N.Y., Kyle Mackiewicz, a 6-8 OPP/MH from Edison, N.J., Bobby Wilden, a 6-8 OH/MH from Ashburn, Va. and Nathan Smith, a 6-5 setter from Los Altos, Calif.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Nittany Lions welcome Harvard and Sacred Heart to town Feb. 17-18 for 7 p.m. matches in Rec Hall.
