UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State swept the EIVA Weekly Awards released on Monday after posting two wins over No. 1 Ohio State in a span of four days last week. Michael Valenzi was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week, while Toby Ezeonu was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week.
Valenzi was outstanding in both matches, hitting .386 while averaging 3.00 kills, 1.33 digs and 0.44 blocks set, but he especially stood out with his performance in the fifth set of a reverse sweep of the Buckeyes on Sunday at Rec Hall. In that deciding set, the senior outside hitter went off for six kills with no errors on eight attacks. He had four straight Penn State points during one stretch, getting kills to tie the score at 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, and 12-12. He finished that match with 14 kills on .393 hitting in addition to six digs and three blocks.
The first win over No. 1 Ohio State came in Columbus on Thursday. Valenzi hit .379 with 13 kills, two aces, six digs and one block.
Valenzi picked up his second EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honor, adding to the award he won as a freshman after totaling 25 kills on .452 hitting over two wins against Sacred Heart.
Ezeonu had three blocks while helping hold Ohio State to .200 hitting and racked up 14 kills on .500 hitting in the 3-1 win over the Buckeyes in Columbus. He added three more blocks while helping hold the Buckeyes to .230 hitting while adding 10 kills on .500 hitting in the five-set win at Rec Hall.
It is the fourth EIVA Defensive Player of the Week honor for Ezeonu. He also has one Offensive Player of the Week award from the conference.
Penn State has three EIVA awards through four weeks of the season. John Kerr was the Offensive Player of the Week after wins over Central State and Lewis during the opening week of play.
No. 8 Penn State, which improved to 6-2 with the two wins over Ohio State, heads to Indiana for a pair of matches this week. The Nittany Lions play at No. 15 Ball State on Friday and at Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday.
