UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With just four EIVA regular-season matches remaining, that means tournament season is right around the corner for Penn State men's volleyball.
Penn State currently leads the conference with a 12-0 record, and 12-match win streak in the league being its longest since 2015. The Nittany Lions also have a nation-high 15-match win streak overall that started all the way back in the final weekend of January.
This long stretch of success isn't simply just a good stretch of play of late by the Nittany Lions. It's the result of a mindset embraced by the experienced players on this year's roster years ago.
In the 2022 season, Penn State's current seniors helped set a precedent of what the culture of the team would be. Having experienced unique situations that were unlike any other class has seen before, the team knew what would set them up to be in the best possible position - controlling what they can control.
"That growth started two years ago with this group," head coach Mark Pavlik said. "They've been through a lot together. They understand the culture that they want. They understand what it means to come out as a team with 22 guys that have roles, and in situations that they embrace and try to improve upon."
The Nittany Lions are currently ranked number three nationally in the AVCA poll and number two in the Off the Block media poll. They were even the top-ranked team in the OTB poll in early-mid March and have been consistently high in the polls all season. Overall, the team has been ranked fifth or higher in all of 2022.
While the high rankings are eye-catching and easy conversation starters for volleyball fans across the country while also painting a general picture of how teams may stack up against each other, the team recognizes the positive recognition the polls bring while staying grounded and focused on the next point of the next match.
"Since we came into Penn State since we were freshmen, that's kind of always been the goal or the standard we wanted to set," senior outside hitter Brett Wildman said. "When you're thinking about [rankings] that much - also knowing that we can be one of the best, if not the best - once you get there, and once you start getting recognized for it, I think that you're almost used to it in a sense because it's been ingrained in our minds for a while. Just keep doing what we've been doing and don't change anything, don't really listen to anything outside."
The team remains focused on what they can control on their own side of the net. By directing the attention on how they can develop individually and as a unit, the team remains true to playing their style of the game despite whoever is on the other side of the court.
"It doesn't matter who we're playing, we just want to go out and play our game every time and we know it'll work if we do that," senior setter Cole Bogner said.
The manifestation through hard work and persistence of being in this position has been the expected result the Nittany Lions knew could happen from the beginning of the season. Now that it is coming into fruition, the team continues to focus on each other and the joy of playing together as the road to the tournament lies ahead.
"It's nothing magical. It's everything that these guys do, day in and day out. The blood, sweat, tears they pour into being in the practice gym and trying to get a little bit better with ball contact, with serving," Pavlik said. "They never let the drudgery of trying to get better overwhelm their joy of competition and of playing. That goes so far for the guys top to bottom on this team."
