UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's volleyball team begins its 12-game home schedule at Rec Hall with a nonconference match against North Greenville this Saturday, Jan. 12 beginning at 7 p.m.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
North Greenville (1-2, 0-0 Conference Carolinas) vs. Penn State (0-1, 0-0 EIVA)
Date: January 12
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall
Watch: LionVision
Statistics: Live Statistics
PARKING INFORMATION
Please see the linked document with regards to important parking information for this Saturday's match.
2019 Men's Volleyball Fans Parking Information
The Nittany Lion Parking Deck will offer free parking 90 minutes prior to game up until 90 minutes after the game's conclusion. The Red-A lot located on the backside of Rec Hall will also have free parking available 60 minutes prior to first serve through 2 a.m.
THE MATCHUP
This will be the first ever meeting between the Nittany Lions and the Crusaders. North Greenville out of Tigerville, South Carolina plays is a member of Conference Carolinas. The last Conference Carolinas opponent Penn State has played was the University of Mount Olive in PSU's 2018 home opener. The Nittany Lions beat the Trojans 3-1.
SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
North Greenville won its first match of the season this past Wednesday in a four-set victory over Queens University. NGU dropped its season-opening matches against ranked squads Lewis (#7) and Loyola-Chicago (#9) in three-straight sets each.
The Crusaders are led by 2018 All-CC performer junior Jackson Gilbert who leads the team with 2.67 kills per set. Freshman libero Christian Phung, the lone representative for CC on the Erik Shoji watch list for best setters in the country, tops the squad with 2.0 digs per set.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State rallied after a slow start at #8 Ohio State to tie the game at one set apiece, but the Buckeyes erased a pair of Nittany Lion leads in the third and fourth sets to take a 3-1 win in Penn State's season opener.
Calvin Mende had 18 kills to lead Penn State, followed by Matthew McLaren with 11. Luke Braswell started his 2019 season with 35 assists. After hitting negative (-.042) in the first set, the Nittany Lions hit .500 in the second set, followed by .219 and .235 marks in the third and fourth sets respectively.
FIRST OF A DOZEN
Penn State will play 12 home games at Rec Hall this season beginning with this Saturday's matchup. The Nittany Lions will host fifth-ranked BYU next Friday, followed by the Nittany Lions' first weekend double header January 25-26 against McKendree and Lindenwood.
For more information on Penn State men's volleyball, follow the Nittany Lions on Twitter @PennStateMVBALL and Instagram @pennstatemvball and "like" the Penn State men's volleyball page on Facebook.
