Men's Volleyball Opens Season with Two Matches in Columbus
Men's Volleyball Opens Season with Two Matches in ColumbusMen's Volleyball Opens Season with Two Matches in Columbus
Mark Selders

Men's Volleyball Opens Season with Two Matches in Columbus

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The fourth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team opens the 2023 season with a pair of matches in Columbus this weekend. The Nittany Lions play Central State on Friday at 7 p.m., and take on No. 13 Ohio State on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both matches are at Ohio State's Covelli Center.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
#4 Penn State (0-0, 0-0 EIVA) vs. Central State (0-0, 0-0 SIAC)
Date: Friday, Jan. 6
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Covelli Center (Columbus, Ohio)
Stats: Live Stats

#4 Penn State (0-0, 0-0 EIVA) at #13 Ohio State (0-0, 0-0 MIVA)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 7
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: Covelli Center (Columbus, Ohio)
B1G+: Live Stream
Stats: Live Stats

SERIES HISTORY - CENTRAL STATE

  • Penn State will play Central State for the first time in program history.


SCOUTING CENTRAL STATE

  • Central State played its first season of men's volleyball in 2022. 
  • The Marauders had a solid first season, going 14-13 overall and 9-1 in the SIAC. They went on to win the inaugural SIAC Men's Volleyball Tournament.
  • Central State returns SIAC Setter of the Year Marcus Franck and Libero of the Year Victor Scherer. Also returning are All-SIAC honorees D'Aaron McCraney and Cameron Lee.


SERIES HISTORY - OHIO STATE

  • Penn State and Ohio State will play for the 119th time. The Lions lead 78-39-1 in a series that began in 1978.
  • The Lions have won four straight matches in the series. Three of the four matches were played at Rec Hall.
  • Penn State is 14-22 against the Buckeyes in Columbus.
  • Toby Ezeonu hit .640 while averaging 2.57 kills/set in a pair of wins over Ohio State last season. Cole Bogner averaged 10.5 assists/set in the two wins.


SCOUTING OHIO STATE

  • Ohio State enters the season ranked No. 13 in the Preseason AVCA Poll.
  • The Buckeyes were picked third in the MIVA Preseason Poll. The Buckeyes received three first-place votes. Just three points separated the first-place team and third-place team in the poll.
  • Samuel Clark and Jacob Pasteur were selected to the Preseason All-MIVA Team. Pasteur, a junior outside hitter, was a first-team All-MIVA selection last season. Clark, a senior middle blocker, earned a spot on the second team.


MATCH NOTES & STATS

  • Penn State was picked as the favorite in the EIVA Preseason Poll. The Lions received five of a possible six first-place votes. They won the EIVA regular season title in each of the past two seasons.
  • Toby Ezeonu, a junior middle blocker, and Cal Fisher, a graduate opposite hitter, were named EIVA Preseason Players to Watch.
  • Two players on the Penn State roster combined to win the past three EIVA Player of the Year honors. Brett Wildman, a graduate outside hitter, earned the award in 2020 and 2022. Cole Bogner, a graduate setter, won the award in 2021.
  • Mark Pavlik enters his 29th season as the head coach of the Penn State men's volleyball team. He holds a career record of 629-214, including an impressive 309-24 in EIVA play.
  • Penn State came in at No. 4 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. The top five includes No. 1 Hawaii, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Long Beach State, and No. 5 Pepperdine. 


UP NEXT

  • Penn State hosts Daemen on Jan. 13, and Merrimack on Jan. 14. 


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.