UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men's volleyball opens EIVA play this weekend at Rec Hall. The third-ranked Nittany Lions host Princeton on Friday at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall South Gym, and then play the Tigers again on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the main gym of Rec Hall.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Princeton (4-6, 0-0 EIVA) at #3 Penn State (9-1, 0-0 EIVA)
Match 1
Date: Friday, Feb. 17
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall South Gym
Watch: B1G+
Stats: Live Stats
Match 2
Date: Saturday, Feb. 18
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall Main Gym
Watch: B1G+
Stats: Live Stats
ENTRANCE
• All fans attending Friday night's match in South Gym are asked to use the Hepper Fitness Center entrance.
PARKING
• Parking for all Penn State Athletics' non-football events will require a valid permit or payment of the applicable parking fee for campus lots. 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.
• Parking for men's volleyball matches, fans are asked to park in the Nittany Deck or West Deck. Fans without a permit are encouraged to prepay for event parking at a discounted rate of $6.00 through ParkMobile - https://psu.parkmobile.io/. Prepayment is available through 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each event. Event day parking will be $10 per vehicle and is cash only/can be purchased on the ParkMobile app.
•Parking for all non-football athletics events is managed by Penn State Transportation Services. For more information or questions, visit transportation.psu.edu or email parking@psu.edu.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
SERIES HISTORY
- Penn State is 62-9 in the all-time series with Princeton. The teams first played in 1977.
- The Lions won both regular season matches last season in New Jersey, but the Tigers took down the top-seeded Lions in the semifinal round of the EIVA Tournament at Rec Hall.
- Penn State is 32-3 against Princeton in Happy Valley.
SCOUTING PRINCETON
- Princeton is 4-6 overall following a 3-0 win over St, Francis Brooklyn in its most recent match.
- The Tigers were picked third in the EIVA Preseason Poll. They are the defending EIVA Tournament champions and qualified for the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
- Princeton ranks first in the conference and second in the nation in aces/set (2.18). Ben Harrington is first in the EIVA and third nationally individually, averaging 0.85 aces/set.
PENN STATE NOTES & STATS
- Penn State's 9-1 start is its best since also starting 9-1 during the 2013 season. The Lions went on to go 23-8 and advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament.
- The Lions were the preseason favorite in the EIVA. They won each of the past two conference regular season titles. They have won 18 straight EIVA regular season matches. The last loss came to George Mason on April 3, 2021.
- Penn State ranks first in the EIVA in assists/set (11.90) and second in aces/set, blocks/set, digs/set, hitting percentage, kills/set, and opponent hitting percentage.
- Individually, Owen Rose ranks first in the EIVA in blocks/set (1.11), Cole Bogner is second in assists/set (10.33), Toby Ezeonu is second in hitting percentage (.471), and John Kerr is second in kills/set (3.57).
- Penn State played a loaded non-conference schedule to open the season, going 5-1 against ranked opponents with wins over No. 2 UCLA, No. 5 Pepperdine, No. 8 Stanford, No. 10 USC, and No. 13 Ohio State.
UP NEXT
- Penn State continues EIVA play with a pair of matches at NJIT on Feb. 24-25.
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.