UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men's volleyball juniors Cole Bogner and Sam Marsh were both awarded the EIVA Offensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week awards respectively for their individual play last weekend against No. 13 Ohio State.
Bogner was great at the setter position for the Nittany Lions this weekend, picking up 30 assists in both 3-0 sweeps. In last Friday's win, he helped Penn State hit .481 as a team, the Nittany Lions' best percentage in a three-set match since their Jan. 24, 2020 match against No. 6 UCLA (.500).
The Chesapeake, Va. native was also instrumental in implementing minor tweaks to Penn State's offense in Saturday's win to combat a Buckeye defense that had seen Penn State's offensive scheme for three prior matches in a row.
In addition to his conference accolade, Bogner was recognized nationally as the Off the Block National Setter of the Week for his performance.
One of the beneficiaries of Bogner's adjustments was Marsh, who while playing great defensively all weekend also had a productive offensive showing. Marsh hit .714 for the weekend with 11 kills, including seven in Saturday's win.
The London, England native also had five important blocks for the weekend, all coming at important swing points during both matches.
It's the first weekly honors for both players in their Penn State careers and the first winners for Penn State in the 2021 season. The conference award sweep is also Penn State's first since January 2020 when Brett Wildman and Will Bantle won both awards for the Nittany Lions.
