UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 10 Penn State Men's Volleyball is set for a home-and-home with Saint Francis this weekend. The teams play in Loretto at 5 p.m. on Saturday and then at Rec Hall at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Saint Francis (12-8, 4-0 NEC) vs. #10 Penn State (13-6, 4-0 EIVA)
Match One
Date: Saturday, March 16
Time: 5 p.m.
Place: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
Live Stream: NEC Front Row
Stats: Live Stats
Match Two
Date: Sunday, March 17
Time: 3 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall
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 Saint Francis will meet for the 56th and 57th time. The teams first played in 1994.
- The Nittany Lions hold a 52-3 lead in the series. This will be the 19th-consecutive season that the teams have played at least one match against each other.
- Penn State is 28-2 against Saint Francis at Rec Hall and 22-1 in road matches. The Red Flash's last win in the series came in Loretto in 2017.
- Toby Ezeonu has hit .574 while averaging 2.14 kills and 0.50 blocks per set in four career matches against Saint Francis.
- Mark Pavlik (Penn State) and Mike Rumbaugh (Saint Francis) have been the head coaches of their respective teams for 48 of the Penn State-Saint Francis matchups.
SCOUTING SAINT FRANCIS
- Saint Francis is 12-6 overall following three straight wins over Edward Waters (3-0), Fort Valley State (3-1), and Tusculum (3-0).
- The Red Flash are the defending NEC regular season champions. They were picked third in the NEC Preseason Poll this season.
- Saint Francis ranks third nationally and first in the NEC in aces/set (1.89). Nathan Zini ranks third nationally and first in the NEC individually at 0.63 aces/set.
- Ryan Parker, a 6-3 senior setter, and Andrew Deardorff, a 6-5 outside hitter, were first-team All-NEC selections last season.
REC HALL WINNING STREAK
- Penn State has won 12 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 45-4 at Rec Hall over the last four seasons.
WEEKLY AWARDS
- Penn State players have combined to win one AVCA National Collegiate Player of the Week award (John Kerr), five EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors (John Kerr 2x, 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
- Penn State returns to the EIVA portion of its schedule when it hosts Harvard for a pair of matches on March 29-30 at Rec Hall.
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.