UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men's volleyball picked up two major awards and had all seven starters earn All-EIVA honors on Tuesday. Setter Cole Bogner was named the EIVA Player of the Year, while Ryan Merk was voted the Newcomer of the Year. Those two were joined on the All-EIVA first team by Toby Ezeonu, Cal Fisher, Michal Kowal, and Owen Rose. Brett Wildman earned a spot on the second team.
The seven players led the charge as Penn State went 24-3 overall and a perfect 10-0 in the conference during the regular season, earning the right to host the EIVA Tournament this week. The Lions have been ranked in the top four of the AVCA Coaches Poll all season, including a No. 1 ranking at one point.
Bogner is now a two-time EIVA Player of the Year as he and Wildman have combined to win the last four. He ranks first in the conference and fifth nationally in assists/set (10.30) while leading Penn State to a .335 hitting percentage. That hitting percentage also ranks first in the EIVA and is sixth nationally. Additionally, his 1.54 digs/set are fifth in the conference. The setter is a four-time All-EIVA honoree, including three first-team accolades and one time on the second team.
Penn State has won 22 EIVA Player of the Year awards. Bogner is the fifth Lion to receive the honor multiple times.
Merk took over as the team's starting libero this season and made an immediate impact, helping with the team's impressive hitting percentage with his passing. Additionally, he anchors the back-row defensive effort, ranking second in the conference with 1.78 digs/set. Merk recorded five or more digs in a match 20 times this season, including double-digit digs four times. He recorded a season-high 12 in a sweep at George Mason.
Merk is the ninth Penn State player to be named EIVA Newcomer of the Year. Current Lion Michael Valenzi was the recipient of the award in 2021.
Ezeonu, a middle blocker was a first-team selection after being named an honorable mention last season. He ranks first in the conference and second nationally with a .499 hitting percentage. He is also a strong contributor defensively as his 0.87 blocks/set are good enough for fifth in the conference. Some of his best matches this season came against top opponents. He totaled double-digit kills while hitting .500 or better against four nationally-ranked foes, including 10 kills on .533 hitting in a win at No. 1 Hawaii.
Fisher, an opposite hitter for the Lions, made the first team for a fourth-consecutive season. After missing the team's first seven matches of the season with an injury, he provided an immediate spark with his return in wins over top-10 opponents USC and UCLA at the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge. Fisher ranks second in the conference in points/set (4.21). He contributes in numerous facets as he also ranks second in aces/set (0.66), third in kills/set (3.20), third in digs/set (1.69) and fifth in hitting percentage (.353). He had double-digit kills in 12 of the final 15 matches of the season.
Kowal made the first team in his first season as a full-time starter. He ranks in the top 10 in the EIVA in hitting percentage (.315), aces/set (0.31) and kills/set (2.54). He was strong in Penn State's 12 matches against ranked opponents during the regular season, hitting .349 while averaging 2.73 kills/set. The outside hitter earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team at Hawaii's Outrigger Challenge thanks to 12 kills and eight digs in a four-set win over the top-ranked Rainbow Warriors.
Rose gave Penn State two outstanding newcomers this season as he also made the most of his opportunity in a starting role as a redshirt freshman. From his spot in the middle, he leads the EIVA in blocks/set and ranks seventh nationally at 1.10. Rose recorded five or more blocks eight times this year, including a career-high nine in a win over Daemen. He earned the first of his three EIVA Defensive Player of the Week awards after that performance.
Wildman put the finishing touches on an impressive feat, tacking on a fifth All-EIVA award. It's his fourth time on the first team. Despite missing the start of the season and not being 100 percent for much of the year, he has still contributed with 1.81 kills/set and 1.35 digs/set. He remained as one of the top servers in the conference finishing one spot behind Fisher in third with 38 aces.
Penn State's six first-team honorees and one on the second team matches the same numbers accomplished by the program's 2002 and 2004 squads.
The Lions open postseason play in the semifinal round of the EIVA Tournament at Rec Hall. They will play the winner between fourth-seeded George Mason and fifth-seeded Harvard on Thursday at 7 p.m.
