UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The fourth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team racked up awards on Monday thanks to a big weekend at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas. Cole Bogner was named the National Setter of the Week by Off the Block, while Toby Ezeonu was selected as the National Middle Attacker of the Week. Additionally, the Lions swept the EIVA honors with John Kerr as the Offensive Player of the Week and Michal Kowal as the Defensive Player of the Week.
The Nittany Lions are 6-0 after their two wins in Texas. They posted 3-1 victories over No. 5 Pepperdine and No. 8 Stanford.
Bogner averaged 11.75 assists/set while leading Penn State to a .356 hitting percentage against the two ranked opponents. He had 48 assists and one ace against the Waves and then recorded 46 assists and five digs against the Cardinal. Bogner has led the Lions to better than .300 hitting in each of the past six matches.
Ezeonu was dominant against the tough competition, hitting .576 with 20 kills, two aces and four blocks. He had 10 kills in both matches. The double-digit total came on .500 hitting against Pepperdine and an even more impressive .692 against Stanford. Ezeonu is hitting .585 with 26 kills over the past three matches. He has just two errors on 41 attacks during that stretch.
Kerr continued his breakout season for Penn State. He hit .338 while averaging 4.38 kills/set, 1.63 digs/set, and 0.50 blocks/set at the First Point Collegiate Challenge. The senior had a big match against Pepperdine with 20 kills on .421 hitting. He then came up just short of his first career double-double with 15 kills and eight digs against the Cardinal.
Kowal did it all to help the Lions stay undefeated. The junior hit .444 while averaging 3.13 kills, 0.63 aces, 1.13 digs, and 0.63 blocks per set. He had a career-high four aces and added 11 kills on .625 hitting against the Waves, and totaled 14 kills, five digs and two blocks against the Cardinal.
Penn State has earned three national honors from Off the Block and three weekly awards from the EIVA this season. The Lions are 6-0 for the first time since 2009 and are 3-0 against nationally-ranked opponents.
The Lions will play a top-10 team for the third-straight match when they host No. 3 Long Beach State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
