UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The fifth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team begins its defense of its 2021 EIVA title by starting its conference schedule this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4-5, against Princeton and George Mason at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions will raise their 2021 EIVA Championship banner prior to Friday's game against Princeton while celebrating their THON match Saturday with Penn State's THON weekend quickly approaching. Both matches are set to begin at 7 p.m.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Thursday, Jan. 6 | Saturday, Jan. 8
Place: Rec Hall Main Gym
Times: 7 p.m. both nights
Stats: Matches 1 & 2
Stream ($): B1G+
Game Notes: Penn State Game Notes
Admission: FREE for all home regular season matches!
PARKING INFORMATION
All Penn State Athletics non-football events will require a valid permit or payment of the applicable parking fee for campus lots. Complimentary parking will no longer be issued for season ticket holders.
Fans with valid Penn State University Park parking permits will be permitted to park at non-football athletics events for free, following Transportation Services parking policies and access.
Fans without a permit are encouraged to prepay for event parking at a discounted rate through ParkMobile - https://psu.parkmobile.io/. Prepayment is available through 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each event. Season packages will be available for general parking for most sports, and information on VIP parking options available for select events will be released later.
Please visit the 2022 Men's Volleyball Parking page for additional information.
Non-football event parking is managed by Penn State Transportation Services. For more information on parking for this event, please email parking@psu.edu or call 814-865-1436.
MATCH NOTES AND INFORMATION
- Penn State ranks 5th in both the AVCA poll and the Off the Block media poll this week. PSU ranked as high as third in the AVCA poll this season (Jan. 18) and 2nd in the OTB poll (Jan. 19), its highest ranking ever in the media poll since its creation in 2016.
- The Nittany Lions split their Battle of the Bigs weekend in California last weekend. They dropped in three sets to UC Santa Barbara Friday before bouncing back with a thrilling 3-2 win over No. 3 Long Beach State Saturday.
- Sophomore middle blocker Toby Ezeonu was named EIVA offensive player of the week thanks to a special night last Saturday at Long Beach. Ezeonu had 16 kills on 17 swings without an error to hit .941. That is the most kills without an error by a PSU middle blocker in the 25-point rally scoring era (since 2011). He had five kills and two of his five blocks in the fifth-and-deciding game.
- Senior opposite Cal Fisher continues to dominate at the right pin for the Nittany Lions, leading the team with 106 kills, including six-straight matches of double-digit kills. The 2021 Off the Block Server of the Year has 14 aces through six matches, which is tied for third-most in the nation this season and ranks T7th in program history with 107 with Joe Sunder and just behind Matt Proper (108) on the list.
- Senior outside hitter Brett Wildman exploded for 18 kills hitting .438 in PSU's win over Long Beach last Saturday. He also ripped four aces (T-career high) and has 13 on the season.
- Senior setter Cole Bogner was named an Off The Block January All-American for his performance to begin the season for the Nittany Lions. His 288 assists is 2nd most in the country and PSU is hitting above .300 (.305) through its first eight matches.
- Penn State nationally: 46 total aces (4th), 1.64 aces per set (12th), 338 kills (4th), 230 digs (5th), .305 H% (13th). Cal Fisher ranks 9th in the country with 4.61 points per set and 12th in kills per set (3.79). Cole Bogner ranks fifth with 10.29 assists per set.
- Penn State opens EIVA play this weekend after being named the unanimous favorite by league coaches to win the conference in EIVA preseason coaches poll. The Nittany Lions clinched their 32nd EIVA championship in 2021, their first since 2017. They will celebrate with their 2021 EIVA championship banner raising Friday night.
- PSU is 60-8 all time against Princeton, though they have not played the Tigers since Feb. 2020. The Nittany Lions snapped a five-match losing skid in that match in a 3-1 win.
- PSU is 112-18 all-time against George Mason. The Nittany Lions took four of five matches against the Patriots in 2021, including a four-set win in the EIVA championship match.
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.