UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 20 Penn State Men's Volleyball is at Rec Hall for just the second time this season when it hosts Merrimack for a non-conference match Friday at 7 p.m. The match will stream on B1G+.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday, Feb. 28 – 7 p.m.
Merrimack (5-3) at #20 Penn State (4-8, 2-2 EIVA) | Live Stats | Watch
PROMOTIONS/THEME
• Carnival Night - Games and prizes for kids
OPENING NOTES
• Penn State is back at Rec Hall for just the second time this season when it hosts Merrimack on Friday night.
• The Nittany Lions have played matches in Illinois, Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Up next after Friday’s home contest are matches in Arizona and Hawaii during a spring break trip.
• Penn State is 2-6 against non-conference opponents this season, but won each of the past two. All six losses came to teams currently ranked in the top 15 of the AVCA Coaches Poll.
LAST TIME OUT
• Penn State won an EIVA road match by a 3-1 score over NJIT on Saturday.
• Three Nittany Lions set career highs in kills, led by Will Kuhns with 21. Gaige Gabriel established a new career high with 11 kills, while Matt Cosgrove did so with nine.
• Owen Rose led the defensive effort with eight blocks in addition to his seven kills. Ryan Merk tallied 11 digs.
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State and Merrimack will meet for the second time in program history. The teams first played in 2023.
• The Nittany Lions won the 2023 matchup 3-0 at Rec Hall. Will Kuhns had four kills, four aces, and two blocks in the win. Ryan Merk had four digs, while Owen Rose contributed three kills and three blocks.
SCOUTING NJIT
• Merrimack is 5-3 overall after five straight wins over American International College (3-0), Sacred Heart (3-1), American International College (3-0) again, Wentworth Institute of Technology (3-0), and Harvard (3-1).
• The Warriors are in their third season after establishing the program in 2023. Their first NCAA match was against Penn State.
• Merrimack ranks third in the nation in aces/set (2.04). Kai Vogel ranks third individually, averaging 0.71 aces/set.
CAREER HIGHS SET LAST WEEKEND
at NJIT (Friday)
• Josh Rosenblum - digs (2)
at NJIT (Saturday)
• Matt Cosgrove - kills (9), assists (2), blocks (6)
• Gaige Gabriel - kills (11)
• Will Kuhns - kills (21)
• Josh Rosenblum - blocks (1)
STREAKS TO WATCH
Will Kuhns
• 3 straight matches with at least one ace
Ryan Merk
• 55 straight serve receptions with no aces
• 3 straight matches without allowin an ace
• 73 straight starts at libero
UP NEXT
• Penn State heads to Grand Canyon for a pair of matches on March 8-9.
• The Antelopes are No. 12 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and are 9-3 overall following back-to-back losses to No. 12 CSUN (3-1) and No. 1 Long Beach State (3-0).