UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In the midst of a special season for the second-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team, the Nittany Lions had seven student-athletes named to All-EIVA teams as announced by the conference office Tuesday afternoon.
Senior Brett Wildman was named the 2022 Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year and was picked to the All-EIVA first team alongside four teammates: seniors Cole Bogner, Cal Fisher and Will Bantle and sophomore Toby Ezeonu.
Senior Sam Marsh and sophomore Michael Valenzi were picked All-EIVA honorable mentions by the league's coaches, cementing the Nittany Lions' entire starting lineup as All-EIVA honorees.
In addition, head coach Mark Pavlik was selected the Bob Sweeney Memorial EIVA Coach of the Year for a record ninth time.
Wildman's second conference player of the year honor was earned after another electric season from the outside hitter. Wildman set single-season bests in kills (286), hitting percentage (.348) and aces (39) in 2022.
He has also climbed up the program career charts with 128 career service aces, good for fifth most, while nearing the 1,000 career kill mark at 965 currently.
Wildman was the 2020 EIVA Co-Player of the Year in the shortened 2020 season with NJIT's Alvaro Gimeno. He becomes the third Nittany Lions to win the award multiple times, joining Aaron Russell (three times), Jose Quinones (three), and Joe Sunder (two).
Bogner pieced together another stellar season as the Nittany Lions' setter to lead the offense to another great season. His career-best 10.54 assists per set rate ranks fifth nationally and has led Penn State to a nation-high 23 wins and .340 hitting percentage, fourth-best in the country.
Bogner's all-conference nod is the third of his career after winning the 2021 EIVA Player of the Year honor.
Fisher has played lights out from the right pin and the service line this season for his second EIVA First-Team nod. He led Penn State with 45 aces this season and ranks only behind Russell and Max Holt on the program aces list with 140.
The Pittsburgh native also has 272 kills, a .322 hitting percentage and career-bests in digs (150) and blocks (37) this season.
Bantle has been a mainstay at the libero position as Penn State's defensive rock and claims his fourth All-EIVA in his career. Bantle has a team-best .982 serve-receive percentage (431-439) and leads the Nittany Lions in digs with a 173.
His 1.95 digs per set ranks third in the EIVA. He became just the 10th Nittany Lion to reach 600 career digs this season.
The breakout season put together by Toby Ezeonu put him on the map as one of the country's top physical presences in the country and earned him his first All-EIVA honor. Ezeonu leads the nation among player with at least 3.25 attacks per set with a .551 hitting percentage, which would rank third in program history if the season ended today.
The New Jersey native ranks third on the team with 183 kills while leading the Nittany Lions with 75 total blocks, 13 of which are solo.
Sam Marsh has done nothing but get better since arriving at Penn State. The senior from London, England picked up his second-straight honorable mention in 2022 thanks to a career-best year statistically.
Marsh shattered his previous single-season highs in kills (117), hitting percentage (.387) and aces (23) while nearing his 2021 blocks total of 66 with 58 so far in the 2022 season.
Rounding out the Penn State student-athletes honored, Michael Valenzi followed up his EIVA Newcomer of the Year honor with a rock-solid sophomore campaign. The Boca Raton, Florida native has 109 kills, 14 aces, 22 blocks and 136.0 points in 2022.
Valenzi has also been great in serve-receive with a .962 serve-receive percentage in 291 attempts.
For coach Pavlik, the EIVA Coach of the Year honor is the ninth of his career in his 28th season with the Nittany Lions. The 2022 team became the 23rd team under Pavlik's leadership to achieve 20 wins in a season. Penn State's 16-0 EIVA record this season marks the most league victories without a loss in program history.
Pavlik's EIVA coaching record is now 304-24 and his 629 wins overall are the most among active men's DI-II coaches.
The Nittany Lions host the 2022 EIVA Tournament this week, April 20-23, at Rec Hall. As the league's top seed, Penn State will have a bye to the semifinal round where they will meet the winner of Saint Francis and Princeton Thursday evening at 7 p.m. For more information on the EIVA Tournament, please visit EIVA Tournament Central.
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.
