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Penn State Athletics

No. 10 Men's Volleyball Hosts Harvard for Pair of EIVA Matches

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 10 Penn State Men's Volleyball hosts Harvard for a pair of EIVA matches this weekend at Rec Hall. The teams play Friday at 7 p.m., and then again on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The Nittany Lions enter with a record of 15-6 overall and currently sit first in the EIVA standings at 4-0. The Crimson are 11-6 overall and are just one match back in the conference standings with a record of 3-1.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Harvard (11-6, 3-1 EIVA) at #10 Penn State (15-6, 4-0 EIVA)

Match One
Date: Friday, March 29
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall
Live Stream: B1G+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Match Two
Date: Saturday, March 30
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall
Live Stream: B1G+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast


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 Harvard will meet for the 27th time. The teams first played in 2000. 
  • The Nittany Lions hold a 23-3 lead in the series. All 26 matches were played during Mark Pavlik's time as Penn State head coach.
  • Penn State is unbeaten at 13-0 against Harvard in matches played at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions lost just six sets total in those 13 matches.
  • The Nittany Lions have won seven straight matches in the series, with the last loss coming in 2018.
  • No players on the current Penn State roster have lost a match to Harvard.
  • Michael Valenzi has hit .600 while averaging 2.83 kills and 1.33 digs per set in two career matches against Harvard. Owen Rose has hit .667 while averaging 2.17 kills/set in his two matches against the Crimson.

 
SCOUTING HARVARD

  • Harvard is 11-6 overall following wins over Concordia University Irvine and Dominican University of New York.
  • The Crimson were picked last in the EIVA Preseason Coaches Poll but are off to a 3-1 start in the conference with a two-match sweep of Charleston and a split with Princeton.
  • Ethan Smith, a 6-7 middle blocker, was a second-team All-EIVA selection last season. He currently ranks fourth in the conference in blocks/set (0.89).
  • Harvard has won 10 of its past 12 matches.


REC HALL WINNING STREAK

  • Penn State has won 13 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 46-4 at Rec Hall over the last four seasons.


EIVA WINNING STREAK

  • Penn State has won 32 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, NJIT and Princeton, four each over George Mason and Harvard, and two each over Sacred Heart, Saint Francis and St. Francis Brooklyn.


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 goes on the road for two matches at George Mason on April 12-13.


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.