Feb. 1, 2018
Bag Policy - Parking
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 9 Penn State men's volleyball will square off against Ball State (4-4) (Main Gym) Friday, Feb. 2 at 7:00 p.m. ET, before taking on IPFW (7-0) (South Gym) February 3 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Live stats for all Penn State matches will be provided as well.
SCOUTING BALL STATE (Main Gym)
Ball State is fresh off a weekend that saw the Cardinals fall to No. 12 Pepperdine and George Mason on the road.
Matt Szews leads Ball State in kills posting 86 through eight matches while teammate Matt Walsh is close behind with a season total of 77.
Courtland Scharenbor leads the Cardinals in assist with 226, Nick Lavanchy and Mitch Weiler are a close 1-2 in digs with 48 and 45, respectively, while Walsh is the team leader in blocks with 18 total.
Ball State is currently seventh in the MIVA with a record of 4-4 overall and 0-0 in MIVA play.
SCOUTING FORT WAYNE (South Gym)
Fort Wayne is riding a hot streak at 7-0, posting six sweeps over the first seven matches.
Pelegrin Vargas leads Fort Wayne in kills collecting 85 through seven matches.
Michael Keegan leads the Mastodons in assist with 217, as well as digs with 50, while Richie Diedrich is the team leader in blocks with 24 total.
Fort Wayne is currently third in the MIVA with a record of 7-0 overall and 0-0 in MIVA play while entering the match as the No. 15 team in the nation (AVCA).
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State is currently ranked in the top-25 in five different team categories including a top-10 ranking in hitting percentage - .315 (10th).
Individually, Jalen Penrose is ranked No. 6 in the nation in aces per set (0.55) followed closely by Aidan Albrecht at No. 9 averaging 0.52 aces per set. Luke Braswell is 16th in the nation in assists per set averaging 9.53.
NITTANY LIONS No. 9 IN LATEST AVCA POLL
Penn State enters week three at the No. 9 team in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association DI-II (AVCA) poll.
Penn State (3-2, 0-0) is coming off a 0-1 weekend vs. No. 3 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
Long Beach State remained the No. 1 team in the nation receiving all 25 first-place votes with a record of 9-0, followed by UCLA at No. 2 (8-1), Hawai'i at No. 3 (7-1), UC-Irvine at No. 4 (10-1) and Ohio State (5-2) rounding out the top-five.
PAVLIK KNOWS HOW TO WIN
In his 24th year at the helm of the program, head coach Mark Pavlik has amassed over 500 wins. Pavlik currently stands at 546-174 for his career.
FRESH FACES ON THE COURT IN 2018
The defending EIVA regular and tournament champion men's volleyball team returns a core group of 15 letter winners and four starters this year while welcoming five freshmen and one transfer to the roster.
The new additions include 6-5 Outside Hitter Will Bantle from Pacific Palisades, Calif., Louis Murray, a 6-2 Libero from Los Angeles, Calif., Mathew Gagnon, a 6-5 Outside Hitter from Cranberry Township, Pa., Jack Goedken, a 6-4 Outside Hitter from Carlsbad, Calif. and Henrik Falck Lauten, a 6-5 Outside Hitter from Drammen, Norway.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Penn State will travel to Loretto, Pa. as the Nittany Lions take on Saint Francis (PA) Saturday at 7 p.m.