No. 7 Men's Volleyball Set for Two Ranked Matches in AustinNo. 7 Men's Volleyball Set for Two Ranked Matches in Austin
Steven Walter

No. 7 Men's Volleyball Set for Two Ranked Matches in Austin

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 7 Penn State Men's Volleyball is set for two ranked matches at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas this weekend. The Nittany Lions play No. 8 Stanford on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and then take on No. 1 UCLA on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
No. 7 Penn State (4-0) vs. No. 8 Stanford (4-0)
Date: Friday, Jan. 19
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: Austin Convention Center
Live Stream: FloVolleyball
Stats: Live Stats

No. 7 Penn State (4-0) vs. No. 1 UCLA (4-0)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 20
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: Austin Convention Center
Live Stream: FloVolleyball
Stats: Live Stats


FIRST POINT COLLEGIATE CHALLENGE

  • The First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas is set to be played for the third year. Penn State is competing in the event for a second time.
  • The Nittany Lions went 2-0 in Austin last season, recording four-set wins over No. 5 Pepperdine and No. 8 Stanford.
  • John Kerr was named the AVCA National Collegiate Player of the Week after his performance in Austin last year. He hit .421 with 20 kills, three blocks and five digs in the win over the Waves, and then hit .250 with 15 kills, two aces and eight digs in the win over the Cardinal.
  • Toby Ezeonu hit .500 with 10 kills against Pepperdine and .692 with 10 kills against Stanford, while Michal Kowal hit .625 with 11 kills and four aces against the Waves and .345 with 14 kills and one ace against the Cardinal.


PENN STATE VS. RANKED

  • Penn State has seen success against nationally-ranked opponents as of late, going 28-9 dating back to the start of the 2021 season. 
  • The Nittany Lions are 12-5 against top-10 opponents, 4-5 against top-five opponents and 1-1 when playing the top-ranked team in the nation during that time.
  • The top-ranked win came over Hawaii by a 3-1 score in Honolulu last season. Toby Ezeonu hit .533 with 10 kills and five blocks in that match, while Michal Kowal had 12 kills and eight digs.


SERIES HISTORY - STANFORD

  • Penn State and Stanford will play for the 13th time in program history. The teams first played in 1992.
  • The Nittany Lions lead 7-5 in the all-time series, including a 3-1 win over the Cardinal at last year's First Point Collegiate Challenge.
  • John Kerr tallied 15 kills, two aces and eight digs in the win over Stanford last season. Michal Kowal hit .345 with 14 kills and five digs, Toby Ezeonu hit .692 with 10 kills, and Ryan Merk recorded eight digs.
  • Penn State has won six of the past eight matches in the series.


SERIES HISTORY - UCLA

  • Penn State and UCLA will play for the 43rd time in program history. The teams first played in 1982.
  • The Nittany Lions lead 7-5 in the all-time series, including a 3-1 win over the Cardinal at last year's First Point Collegiate Challenge.
  • The teams split their two matches last season with Penn State winning 3-1 at home and UCLA turning the tables with a 3-1 win in Honolulu.
  • Owen Rose has hit .706 while averaging 1.44 kills/set and 0.78 blocks/set in two career matches against UCLA. Michal Kowal has hit .260 with 2.31 kills/set and 1.46 digs/set in three matches, while Toby Ezeonu has hit .417 with 1.38 kills/set and 1.00 blocks/set in thee matches.


UP NEXT

  • Penn State plays Ohio State twice next week. The teams play in Columbus on Thursday at 6 p.m., and then at Rec Hall on Sunday at 3 p.m.


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.