March 27, 2017
Bag Policy - Parking
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 13 Penn State men's volleyball for a midweek match against Ohio State (23-1, 12-0) Tuesday, Mar. 28 at 7 p.m. ET in Rec Hall.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
Ohio State is currently on a four-game winning streak having won 46 of their last 47 matches dating back to last season when the Buckeyes won it all in Rec Hall at the NCAA Championship match.
The Buckeyes are coming off a 2-0 weekend having downed both IPFW and Ball State in straight sets.
All-American Nicolas Szerszen leads Ohio State in kills recording 318 through 24 matches while teammate Miles Johnson is close behind with a season total of 314.
Christy Blough leads the Buckeyes in assist with 832, Gabriel Domecus leads in digs (169) and Blake Leeson is the team leader in blocks with 82 total.
Ohio State is the current leader in the MIVA with a record of 23-1 overall and 12-0 in MIVA play while entering the match as the No. 1 team in the nation (AVCA).
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State is currently ranked in the top-25 in four different team categories including a top-10 ranking in assist per set - 11.57 (10th).
Individually, Chris Nugent is ranked 27th in the nation in points per set (3.79) and 21st in the nation in kills per set (3.37), while Kevin Gear is 11th in the nation in blocks per set averaging 1.07.
Luke Braswell is sixth in the nation in assists per set averaging 10.41 and Royce Clemens is ranked 18th in the nation in digs per set averaging 2.31 per set.
NITTANY LIONS 13th IN LATEST AVCA POLL
Penn State enters week 12 remaining the No. 13 team in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association DI-II (AVCA) poll.
Penn State (13-9, 6-2) is coming off a 0-2 weekend vs. Top-10 teams Lewis (No. 7) and Loyola (No. 10) on the road.
Ohio State returned to the number one team in the nation receiving 21 of 24 first-place votes with a record of 23-1, followed by Long Beach State at No. 2 (22-3), BYU at No. 3 (21-3), Hawai'i at No. 4 (22-4) and UC-Irvine (16-6) rounding out the top-five.
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 534-171 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?
Penn State will host matches this Friday and Saturday night as the Nittany Lions host Princeton and NJIT Mar. 31 and Apr. 1, respectively, with both matches slated for a 7 p.m. first serve in Rec Hall.