UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania – The Penn State men's volleyball team plays its third and fourth-straight matches on the road against ranked opponents when it heads to Indiana to take on #13 Purdue Fort Wayne and #15 Ball State. The Nittany Lions take on the Mastadons Friday before facing the Cardinals Saturday evening.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Penn State (8-10, 5-2 EIVA) vs. #13 Purdue Fort Wayne (11-7, 5-2 MIVA)
Date: Friday, March 15
Time: 7 p.m.
Stats: Live Statistics
Watch: Mastadon All-Access
Listen: PFW Radio
Penn State vs. #15 Ball State (10-10, 3-4 MIVA)
Date: Friday, March 15
Time: 7 p.m.
Stats: Live Statistics
Watch: ESPN 3
OPENING SERVE
Penn State dropped its latest two matches against USC and UCLA at the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge in Los Angeles at USC's Galen Center last weekend. Penn State battled back after dropping the first and third sets to the #11 Trojans to force a fifth set where they ultimately fell 15-13 for its second five-set defeat of the season. The #5 Bruins proceeded to beat the Nittany Lions in straight sets in game two on Saturday.
The Mastodons have won three-straight matches against MIVA opponents, including picking up a pair of sweeps over Lindenwood and Quincy on their home court last time out March 3-4. Purdue Fort Wayne allowed their opponent to score over 20 points just once in six sets during the weekend. The Mastodons' top offensive players include junior outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas (12 double-digit kill games), and RS Senior opposite Colton Stone (2nd best 135 kills on team).
Ball State played in the Hawai'i Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu last weekend and went 1-2 in three matches. The Cardinals were swept by ranked opponents Pepperdine and Hawai'i before coming up with a sweep of their own over King. Junior outside hitter Matt Szews is the lone Cardinal with 200+ kills (233) and 100+ digs (109). Freshman outside hitter Kaleb Jenness is second on the team with 177 kills.
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE COMPETITION
Penn State has had several matches against both PFW and Ball State in team history and have had success against both squads. The Nittany Lions are 45-15 against the Mastodons since their first match in 1984. The Nittany Lions have come out on top of the last three matches, including a four-set win at Rec Hall Feb. 3 last season.
Penn State leads the all-time series 62-25 versus the Cardinals dating back to Penn State inaugural varsity season in 1977. The Nittany Lions have gone 3-2 in the last five matchups, including a 3-2 win at Rec Hall last season on Feb. 2.
WILDMAN GOING WILD
Freshman outside hitter Brett Wildman was one of Penn State's go-to offensive options last weekend in California as he led the Nittany Lions in kills for both games. Wildman had 16 kills off the bench to set a season high last Friday against #11 USC. He earned his third start of the season the next night versus #5 UCLA and led the Nittany Lions with eight kills.
WHOSE TURN IS IT ANYWAY?
Penn State has had several individuals lead the team or tie the team lead in various offensive and defensive categories in matches this season. Wildman became the fifth Nittany Lion to lead the team in kills in a match after doing it twice last weekend. He joins Henrik Falck Lauten (6), Jason Donorovich (5), Matthew McLaren (4), and Calvin Mende (2).
Will Bantle has 11 matches this season where he's led Penn State in digs for the match, but six other Nittany Lions have topped the team in the category. Likewise, Donorovich has 11 games with the team high in blocks, followed by Canyon Tuman with eight and eight other Nittany Lions behind him.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions will have a quick turnaround with a nonconference bout with Ohio State at Rec Hall next Tuesday, March 19. First serve will be at 7 p.m.
