UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 9 Penn State Men's Volleyball continues its California trip with three matches this week. The Nittany Lions, who played at Long Beach State on Friday, play at No. 16 CSUN on Tuesday, at No. 12 USC on Wednesday and at No. 4 UCLA on Friday.
After this week, 12 of Penn State's 19 matches will have been played against nationally-ranked opponents, including five against teams ranked in the top five at the time of the match.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
#9 Penn State (12-4, 4-0 EIVA) at #16 CSUN (9-7, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Tuesday, March 5
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Place: Premier America Credit Union Arena (Northridge, Calif.)
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stats: Live Stats
#9 Penn State (12-4, 4-0 EIVA) at #12 USC (10-8, 2-4 MPSF)
Date: Wednesday, March 6
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Place: Galen Center Pavilion (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Live Stream: USC Live Stream
Stats: Live Stats
#9 Penn State (12-4, 4-0 EIVA) at #4 UCLA (14-4, 5-1 MPSF)
Date: Friday, March 8
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Place: Galen Center Pavilion (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Live Stream: USC Live Stream
Stats: Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY - CSUN
- Penn State and CSUN will meet for the 15th time. The teams first played in 1982.
- The Nittany Lions hold a 9-5 advantage in the series, but the teams haven't played since 2016.
- Penn State is 1-2 in road matches against CSUN.
- The Nittany Lions are 5-2 against the Matadors under head coach Mark Pavlik.
SERIES HISTORY - USC
- Penn State and USC will meet for the 33rd time. The teams first played in 1980.
- USC leads the series 20-12, but Penn State has won six of the past eight matchups, including a 3-1 victory at Rec Hall last season.
- The Nittany Lions are 1-3 in road matches against the Trojans.
- Penn State is 10-8 against USC under head coach Mark Pavlik.
- In last season's 3-1 win over USC, Michal Kowal hit .429 with 11 kills, two aces and five digs, while Toby Ezeonu hit .400 with seven kills and three blocks.
SERIES HISTORY - UCLA
- Penn State and UCLA will meet for the 44th time. The teams first played in 1982.
- UCLA leads the series 34-8-1, including a 3-1 win at the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas earlier this season.
- Toby Ezeonu has hit .432 while averaging 1.44 kills/set and 1.00 blocks/set in four career matches against UCLA. Michal Kowal has also played four matches against the Bruins and has averaged 2.13 kills/set and 1.25 digs/set
PENN STATE VS. RANKED
- Penn State has seen success against nationally-ranked opponents as of late, going 33-11 dating back to the start of the 2021 season.
- The Nittany Lions are 14-7 against top-10 opponents, 6-6 against top-five opponents and 3-2 when playing the top-ranked team in the nation during that time.
- The first of the two top-ranked wins came over Hawaii by a 3-1 score in Honolulu last season, while the most recent two came over Ohio State - one away, one home - in a span of four days this season.
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
- Penn State plays at Saint Francis on Saturday, March 16, and then hosts the Red Flash on Sunday, March 17. The Red Flash are 9-6 following a 3-1 loss to George Mason in their most recent match.
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