UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 9 Penn State Men's Volleyball continues EIVA play with a pair of home matches against NJIT in Rec Hall South Gym this weekend. The teams open the two-match series on Friday at 7 p.m., and meet again on Saturday at 4 p.m.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
NJIT (7-6, 0-1 EIVA) at #9 Penn State (9-3, 2-0 EIVA)
Match One
Date: Friday, Feb. 23
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall South Gym
Live Stream: B1G+
Stats: Live Stats
Match Two
Date: Saturday, Feb. 24
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 NJIT will meet for the 54th time. The teams first played in 1977.
- The Nittany Lions have won six straight matches against the Highlanders, with the last loss coming at home in 2021.
- Penn State is 25-1 in home matches against NJIT.
- Toby Ezeonu has hit .597 while averaging 3.00 kills/set and 1.36 blocks/set in four career matches against NJIT.
SCOUTING NJIT
- NJIT is 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the EIVA following a 3-1 loss to George Mason in its most recent match.
- The Highlanders were picked fourth in the EIVA Preseason Coaches Poll.
- Junior outside hitter Alessandro Negri was a second-team All-EIVA honoree last season.
- Griffin Fieseler ranks first in the conference in assists/set (9.15).
REC HALL WINNING STREAK
- Penn State has won 10 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 43-4 at Rec Hall over the last four seasons.
EIVA WINNING STREAK
- Penn State has won 30 consecutive EIVA regular season matches.
- The Nittany Lions' last EIVA regular season loss came at George Mason on April 3, 2022.
- The streak includes six wins each over Charleston and Princeton, four each over George Mason, Harvard and NJIT, and two each over Sacred Heart, Saint Francis and St. Francis Brooklyn.
EZEONU HITTING PERCENTAGE
- Toby Ezeonu enters the weekend with a career hitting percentage of .512 (527-82-869).
- 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 an NCAA best .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), four EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors (John Kerr, Michael Valenzi, Michal Kowal, Toby Ezeonu), 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
- No. 9 Penn State plays at No. 1 Long Beach State on Friday, March 1, at 10 p.m. ET.
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.