UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Men's Volleyball's John Kerr was named the EIVA Player of the Year and Mark Pavlik was selected as the Coach of the Year as the league announced its yearly awards on Tuesday.
Additionally, the Nittany Lions had six players named All-EIVA in a vote of the league's coaches. Kerr, a graduate student, was joined on the first team by senior Toby Ezeonu, redshirt sophomore Ryan Merk, and redshirt sophomore Owen Rose. Making the second team were seniors Michal Kowal and Michael Valenzi.
Penn State has won five consecutive EIVA Player of the Year awards as Kerr joins former teammates Brett Wildman and Cole Bogner, who each won the award twice, to form that streak. Sixteen Nittany Lions have combined to win the award 22 times.
Kerr earned the Player of the Year honor in his first year as a full-time starter after hitting .357 while averaging 4.27 points, 3.75 kills, 1.27 digs and 0.52 blocks per set during the regular season. He reached double-digit kills 20 times in 26 matches, including each of the past 14. He established a career high of 31 kills while hitting .417 in a five-set win over No. 16 Lewis early in the season.
Kerr enters the postseason ranked second in the EIVA in points/set and kills/set and third in hitting percentage. He excelled in league play as Penn State went a perfect 10-0, recording double-digit kills in nine matches. His lowest hitting percentage in any of those performances was .286. He hit higher than .500 with double-digit kills twice.
Pavlik was named the Coach of the Year after Penn State won the regular season title with an unbeaten mark in EIVA play just one year after losing three full-time starters. That trio combined for four EIVA Player of the Year awards and 10 All-America honors during their careers. His 10th time winning the award came during his 30th season as the team's head coach. The team went 21-6 overall in the regular season, including an 11-6 mark against teams that were nationally-ranked during the year.
Ezeonu earned his third-straight first-team All-EIVA honor. He is the current leader in the NCAA with a .492 hitting percentage while averaging 2.22 kills and 0.81 blocks per set. He is tied for the team lead in aces with 33. The middle blocker's regular season was highlighted by numerous huge performances, including a perfect 10-for-10 match on the attack in a sweep of Central State. He posted double-digit kills with a hitting percentage of .700 or better three times in conference play.
Merk, often lauded as one of the best passers in the nation from his spot at libero, has now earned first-team All-EIVA recognition in each of his first two seasons playing for Penn State. He currently leads the conference at 2.06 digs/set, a number he also averaged in the team's 17 matches against nationally-ranked opponents. He recorded double-digit digs 11 times, including a season-high 15 in matches against Purdue Fort Wayne and Saint Francis.
Rose also earned first-team All-EIVA status for the second time in his two seasons on the floor with the Nittany Lions. He proved to be one of the most consistent players on the team, hitting .434 while averaging 1.65 kills and 0.84 blocks per set. He put up big performances in conference play, including three matches with double-digit kills while hitting .450 or better.
Kowal is now a two-time All-EIVA selection, adding to the first-team award he picked up last season, The senior outside hitter hit .288 while averaging 2.10 kills and 1.36 digs per set. He totaled double-digit kills 10 times, including a stretch of seven straight matches spanning parts of January and February. Kowal was also a threat at the service line, sharing the team lead with 33 aces.
Valenzi is now a three-time All-EIVA honoree. He was a second-team selection as a freshman in 2021 and earned honorable mention status as a sophomore in 2022. The outside hitter stepped up in conference play with 2.08 kills/set, including a stretch of four straight matches with double-digit kills in back-to-back weekend sweeps of Harvard and Charleston.
Penn State will host the EIVA Tournament as the top seed on April 17-20 at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions open in the semifinal round on Thursday when they play the winner of Wednesday's match between fourth-seeded NJIT and fifth-seeded Harvard.
