March 23, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State hits the road for matches against Lewis (Mar. 24) and Loyola (Mar. 25) in non-conference action.
SCOUTING LEWIS
Lewis is coming off a five-set thriller against the defending NCAA Champion Ohio State Buckeyes this past week at home. Lewis fell to 17-6 on the season and 10-3 in MIVA conference play following the match.
Mitch Perinar leads the flyers in kills posting 281 through 23 matches while teammate Ryan Coenen is close behind with a season total of 236.
Matt Yoshimoto leads Lewis in assist with 887, as well as leading in digs with 123 while Jacob Schmiegelt is the team leader in blocks with a total of 96.
SCOUTING LOYOLA
Loyola is fresh off a 3-0 sweep against McKendree on Mar. 19 at home, improving their record to 12-8 overall and 7-4 in conference play.
Ben Plaisted leads the Ramblers in kills with 193 through 20 matches averaging 2.80 kills per set in 2017.
Ian Cowen leads Loyola in assist with 632, Collin Mahan leads in digs (110) and Jeff Jendryk is the team leader in blocks with 90 total.
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State is currently ranked in the top-25 in four different team categories including a top-10 rankings in blocks per set - 2.44 (6th), kills per set - 12.44 (10th) and assist per set - 11.68 (10th).
Individually, Chris Nugent is ranked 23rd in the nation in points per set (3.94) and 16th in the nation in kills per set (3.54), while Kevin Gear is fifth in the nation in blocks per set averaging 1.13 on the season.
Luke Braswell is seventh in the nation in assists per set averaging 10.35 and Royce Clemens is ranked 18th in the nation in digs per set averaging 2.27 per set.
NITTANY LIONS 13th IN LATEST AVCA POLL
Penn State enters week 11 remaining the No. 13 team in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association DI-II (AVCA) poll.
Penn State (13-7, 6-2) is coming off a 3-1 win over MPSF member Cal-Baptist this past Friday night in Rec Hall.
Long Beach State remained the number one team in the nation receiving 13 of 24 first-place votes with a record of 21-2, followed by Ohio State at No. 2 (21-1), BYU at No. 3 (19-3), Hawai'i at No. 4 (20-4) and UC-Irvine (15-6) rounding out the top-five.
| Rank | School (First-Place Votes) | Total Points Adjusted | 2017 Record | Previous Week |
|---|
| 1 | Long Beach State (13) | 349 | 21-2 | 1 |
| 2 | Ohio State (11) | 345 | 21-1 | 2 |
| 3 | BYU | 312 | 19-2 | 3 |
| 4 | Hawai'i | 284 | 20-4 | 4 |
| 5 | UC Irvine | 269 | 15-6 | 5 |
| 6 | UCLA | 237 | 15-7 | 6 |
| 7 | Lewis | 211 | 17-6 | 7 |
| 8 | Pepperdine | 182 | 8-9 | 9 |
| 9 | Stanford | 165 | 11-10 | 8 |
| 10 | Loyola-Chicago | 149 | 12-8 | 10 |
| 11 | Ball State | 114 | 15-6 | 11 |
| 12 | Southern California | 98 | 10-12 | 12 |
| 13 | Penn State | 76 | 13-7 | 13 |
| 14 | CSUN | 53 | 12-12 | 14 |
| 15 | UC Santa Barbara | 22 | 10-12 | 15 |
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 535-169 for his career, including a record of 259-11 in EIVA play.
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?
Penn State returns home for their final non-conference match against the Buckeyes on BTN-Plus. The Nittany Lions take on Ohio State Mar. 28 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.
