UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 8 Penn State Men's Volleyball heads to Indiana for a pair of non-conference matches this week. The Nittany Lions play at No. 15 Ball State on Friday at 7 p.m., and then play at Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday at 7 p.m.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
#8 Penn State (6-2, 0-0 EIVA) at #15 Ball State (7-5, 0-0 MIVA)
Date: Friday, Feb. 2
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Worthen Arena (Muncie, Ind.)
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stats: Live Stats
#8 Penn State (6-2, 0-0 EIVA) at Purdue Fort Wayne (4-3, 0-0 MIVA)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 3
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Gates Sports Center (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stats: Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY - BALL STATE
- Penn State and Ball State will play for the 90th time in program history. The teams first played in 1977.
- The Nittany Lions lead 62-27. They are 17-9 in road matches against the Cardinals.
- The teams last played in 2020. Ball State won that match 3-0 at Rec Hall.
- The Cardinals also won the most recent matchup in Muncie, 3-1 in 2019.
- No current Nittany Lion has ever appeared in a match against Ball State.
SCOUTING BALL STATE
- Ball State is 7-5 on the season following three straight losses to nationally-ranked teams -- USC, Stanford and Hawaii. The Cardinals open MIVA play at home against No. 11 Loyola Chicago on Thursday night.
- The Cardinals were picked third out of nine teams in the MIVA Preseason Poll. Tinaishe Ndavazocheva, a 6-6 outside hitter, was a Preseason All-MIVA selection.
- Ball State ranks first in the nation in assists/set (12.12) and in kills/set (12.82).
SERIES HISTORY - PURDUE FORT WAYNE
- Penn State and Purdue Fort Wayne will play for the 63rd time in program history. The teams first played in 1984.
- The Nittany Lions lead 46-16, including wins in four of the past five meetings dating back to 2016.
- Penn State won the most recent matchup 3-0 last season in Hawaii. Michael Valenzi hit .500 with 10 kills, two aces, and five digs in the win.
- The Nittany Lions are 15-8 in road matches against the Mastodons.
SCOUTING PURDUE FORT WAYNE
- Purdue Fort Wayne is 4-3 on the season following a pair of home losses to Hawaii.
- The Cardinals were picked fifth out of nine teams in the MIVA Preseason Poll. Jon Diedrich, a 6-8 outside hitter/opposite, and Bryce Walker, a 6-8 middle blocker, were Preseason All-MIVA selections.
- Andrej Polomac ranks ninth in the nation in assists/set (9.76).
PENN STATE NOTES AND STATS
- Toby Ezeonu ranks first in the nation in hitting percent at .531. He hit .500 with double-digit kills in each of the wins over then-No. 1 Ohio State last week.
- Michael Schwob ranks third in the nation in assists/set (10.16).
- Penn State's two wins over No. 1 Ohio State marked the first time in program history that the Nittany Lions posted two wins over the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in the same season.
- Michael Valenzi had a huge fifth set in a reverse sweep over the Buckeyes on Sunday, contributing six kills and no errors on eight attacks. He had kills on four straight Penn State points to tie the match at 9-9, 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12.
- Penn State is 30-11 against nationally-ranked opponents dating back to the start of the 2021 season.
UP NEXT
- Penn State hosts Fairleigh Dickinson in South Gym at Rec Hall on Saturday, Feb. 10. The Knights are 5-1 on the season and have a current five-match winning streak.
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.