UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 9 Penn State Men's Volleyball hosts FDU for a non-conference match in Rec Hall's South Gym on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Nittany Lions are 7-3 after a win over then-No. 15 Ball State and a loss to Purdue Fort Wayne last week. The Knights are 6-2 following a loss to then-No. 10 Pepperdine.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
FDU (6-2, 0-0 NEC) at #9 Penn State (7-3, 0-0 EIVA)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 10
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall South Gym
Live Stream: 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 FDU will play for the first time in program history.
- The Knights' first season as a varsity program was in 2022.
SCOUTING FDU
- FDU is 6-2 following a 3-0 home loss to then-No. 10 Pepperdine.
- The loss to the Waves snapped a six-match winning streak for the Knights.
- The Knights are just one win away from matching the seven victories they had in each of their first two seasons as a varsity program in 2022 and 2023.
- FDU was picked sixth out of seven teams in the NEC Preseason Poll.
- Sophomore opposite Jamal Ellis Carballo was a first-team All-NEC selection last season.
REC HALL WINNING STREAK
- Penn State has won nine straight matches at Rec Hall, including five against nationally-ranked opponents.
- The Nittany Lions' last loss at Rec Hall came to Ohio State on March 21, 2023. Penn State was ranked No. 1 at the time of the match.
- Penn State is 42-4 at Rec Hall over the last four seasons.
EZEONU HITTING PERCENTAGE
- Toby Ezeonu enters the weekend with a career hitting percentage of .509 (511-80-847).
- That hitting percentage would rank second in program history, trailing only Keith Kowal's mark of .523 from 2002-05.
- In Ezeonu's time as a full-time starter for the Nittany Lions, he hit .528 as a sophomore, .490 as a junior, and .529 this season as a senior.
WEEKLY AWARDS
- Penn State players have combined to win one AVCA National Collegiate Player of the Week award (John Kerr), three EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors (John Kerr, Michael Valenzi, Michal Kowal), two EIVA Defensive Player of the Week accolades (Toby Ezeonu, Ryan Merk), one Off the Block National Libero of the Week award (Ryan Merk), and two Off the Block National Middle of the Week honors (Toby Ezeonu 2x).
UP NEXT
- Penn State opens EIVA play with a pair of matches at No. 10 Princeton on Feb. 16-17.
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.