UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The top three teams in the AVCA Men's Volleyball Poll are in Honolulu this week for the Outrigger Invitational. No. 3 Penn State plays three matches at the event, starting with a clash against No. 2 UCLA on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. The Nittany Lions then take on No. 1 Hawaii on Saturday at midnight ET, and Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.
PENN STATE SCHEDULE
No. 3 Penn State (15-1, 4-0 EIVA) vs. No. 2 UCLA (17-1, 4-0 MPSF)
Date: Thursday, March 9
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Place: Stan Sheriff Center (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Stats: Live Stats
No. 3 Penn State (15-1, 4-0 EIVA) at No. 1 Hawaii (15-0, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Saturday, March 11
Time: 12 a.m. ET
Place: Stan Sheriff Center (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: Live Stats
No. 3 Penn State (15-1, 4-0 EIVA) vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (12-5, 3-4 MIVA)
Date: Saturday, March 11
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Place: Stan Sheriff Center (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Stats: Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY - UCLA
- Penn State is 8-32-1 in the all-time series with UCLA but has won two of the past three meetings, including a 3-1 victory at Rec Hall earlier this season.
- Cal Fisher hit .367 with 15 kills, three aces, and six digs in the win over the Bruins on Feb. 4 of this season. Owen Rose tallied seven kills on .778 hitting and added three blocks.
SERIES HISTORY - HAWAII
- Penn State is 9-16 in the all-time series with Hawaii. The teams first played in 1995.
- The Lions have played the Rainbow Warriors in Honolulu 20 times. Just one of the matches in the series was played in State College.
- No one on Penn State's current roster has played against Hawaii. The teams last met in 2018. The Lions last won against the Rainbow Warriors in 2015. They dropped matches in 2017 and 2018.
SERIES HISTORY – PURDUE FORT WAYNE
- Penn State is 45-16 in the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne. The teams first played in 1984.
- The Lions and Mastodons played every year from 2013-19 but did not play the past two seasons.
- Purdue Fort Wayne won the most recent meeting 3-1 in 2019. Current Lions Cal Fisher and Brett Wildman played in that match.
PENN STATE NOTES & STATS
- Penn State has won nine straight matches to up its record to 15-1 overall. It is the third straight season the team has had a winning streak of at least nine matches.
- The Lions were ranked third in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. They have been ranked third for five straight weeks after being ranked fourth in the first five polls of the season.
- UCLA and Hawaii will be the eighth and ninth nationally-ranked opponents for Penn State this season. The Lions are 6-1 against ranked opponents, including a 5-1 mark against teams that were ranked in the top 10 at the time of the match.
- Owen Rose was named the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. In wins over Concordia Irvine and No. 6 UC Irvine over the weekend, Rose hit .483 with 14 kills (1.75/set) and 12 blocks (1.50/set). It is the second EIVA Defensive Player of the Week award for Rose this season and the fourth for Penn State this year.
- Toby Ezeonu, who led the NCAA in hitting percentage at .528 last season, again ranks first in the category this season with a .500 percentage. He has hit .500 or better eight times this year. He tallied double-digit kills in six of those matches.
- Cole Bogner ranks first in the EIVA and third nationally in assists/set at 10.25. He has averaged at least 10 assists/set in 10 matches. Penn State has hit .300 or better 10 times this season, including five times against nationally-ranked opponents.
- Rose, a sophomore, took over one of the starting spots at middle blocker this season and has seized the opportunity. He ranks first in the EIVA and sixth nationally in blocks/set (1.21/set). He has totaled five or more blocks six times this season, including a career-high nine in a sweep of Daemen. Additionally, Rose is hitting .430 while averaging 1.48 kills/set.
- One of Penn State's strengths this season has been its depth. Off the bench, the Lions can turn to Michael Valenzi (2021 EIVA Freshman of the Year and second team All-EIVA selection), Sam Marsh (two-time honorable mention All-EIVA honoree), and John Kerr, who currently ranks fourth in the EIVA in hitting percentage (.355) and 11th in kills/set (2.51).
- Four of Penn State's regular starters this season (Bogner, Ezeonu, Fisher, Wildman) have earned honorable mention All-America status or better during their careers.
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns to State College and will host Saint Francis for a non-conference match on Saturday, March 18.
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.