UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State is the top-ranked team in the nation for the first time since 2009 as it gets set to host No. 15 Ohio State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The match is at Rec Hall and will stream on B1G+
The Nittany Lions earned the No. 1 spot thanks to a win over Saint Francis on Saturday during the same weekend that top-ranked Hawaii split its series with Long Beach State. The Lions beat the Rainbow Warriors in four sets two weekends ago in Honolulu.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
#15 Ohio State (12-9, 5-3 MIVA) at #1 Penn State (18-2, 4-0 EIVA)
Date: Tuesday, March 21
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall
Watch: B1G+
Stats: Live Stats
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 and Ohio State will meet for the 120th time in a series that began in 1978. The Lions lead 79-39-1 in the all-time series.
• The Lions have won five straight matches in the series, including a 3-1 win in Columbus earlier this season. John Kerr hit .545 with 21 kills, five blocks and four digs in that match. Michael Valenzi had nine kills.
• Penn State is 34-11 against Ohio State at Rec Hall.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
• Ohio State is 12-9 overall and ranked No. 15 in the nation after splitting a weekend series with No. 12 Ball State.
• The win against Ball State ended a five-match losing streak for the Buckeyes.
• Ohio State ranks first in the MIVA and fourth in the nation in assists/set (11.95).
• The Buckeyes rank second in the MIVA and sixth nationally in kills/set (12.56). Jacob Pasteur is fourth in the MIVA and 19th nationally at 3.71 kills/set.
LAST TIME OUT
• Penn State swept visiting Saint Francis on Saturday, beating the Red Flash for the second time this season.
• Cal Fisher and Cole Bogner had double-doubles in the win. Fisher finished with 11 kills and 10 digs, while Bogner totaled 34 assists and 11 digs.
• The Lions clawed back from down 17-12 to win the opening set 27-25. They went on to win the second set 25-22 and the third 25-14.
• Sam Marsh and Michael Valenzi started the third set and took advantage of the opportunity. Marsh had three blocks, while Valenzi tallied five kills.
PENN STATE NOTES & STATS
• Penn State moved to No.1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll that was released Monday afternoon. It is the first time the Lions have been the top-ranked team in the poll since Feb. 26, 2009.
• The Lions climbed the AVCA Coaches Poll this season. They were ranked fourth in the first five polls of the season, third for five weeks after that, second last week and first this week.
• Ohio State marks Penn State's 10th nationally-ranked opponent this season. The Lions are 7-2 against ranked opponents, including a 6-2 mark against teams that were ranked in the top 10 at the time of the match.
• Two Penn State players have a chance to reach career milestones by the end of their final season. Cole Bogner is 268 assists away from reaching 4,000 for his career, while Cal Fisher needs 91 kills to reach 1,000. At minimum, the Lions have seven regular season matches and one EIVA Tournament match remaining. Brett Wildman already eclipsed the 1,000-kill milestone earlier this season.
• Penn State's 18-2 record is its best through 20 matches since the 2008 team was 19-1. That team went on to finish 30-1 overall and won the national title.
• Lions' head coach Mark Pavlik is the second in his family to lead a team to a No. 1 national ranking this season. His wife, Heather Pavlik, led Juniata women's volleyball to the Division III national title in the fall.
UP NEXT
- No. 1 Penn State returns to EIVA play with matches at Harvard on March 31 and April 1.
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.