UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's volleyball team was selected as the unanimous favorite in the EIVA preseason coaches' poll for the upcoming 2022 season as announced by the league Tuesday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions received all nine first-place votes from conference head coaches in the poll after securing both the regular season and postseason tournament titles in 2021.
Penn State returns its entire starting lineup and 17 total student-athletes from the 2021 championship roster, including All-Americans Cole Bogner, Cal Fisher and Brett Wildman and All-EIVA honorees Will Bantle and Sam Marsh.
Head coaches were asked to select of pair of "Players to Watch" from their respective teams and Mark Pavlik noted Wildman and sophomore middle blocker Toby Ezeonu.
Is considered one of the game's top outside hitters with an explosive offensive game and a great defensive player as shown in 2021. Wildman ranked in the top five in multiple EIVA offensive categories, including kills (237), kills per set (3.29), service aces (30) and points (285.0).
The Virginia Beach native is also building on personal bests in blocks (33.0) and digs (105) while sporting Penn State's best serve-receive percentage at .966 on 350 total attempts.
Ezeonu saw time in 10 total matches in 2021 as a freshman and looks to carry an increased role for the Nittany Lions' middle-blocker group in 2022. At 6-7 with a long wingspan, the North Brunswick, N.J. native had 16 kills with a .500 hitting percentage and six blocks.
The Nittany Lions begin their 26-match regular-season schedule Jan. 6-8 with a home series against 2021 national runners-up BYU at Rec Hall. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. and admission is free.
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.
