No. 17 Men's Volleyball Opens EIVA Play with Matches at Harvard Friday and Saturday
Penn State has won 38 consecutive EIVA regular season matches
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 17 Penn State Men's Volleyball opens EIVA play this week as it travels to play a pair of matches at Harvard on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday, Feb. 7 – 7 p.m.
#17 Penn State (0-6, 0-0 EIVA) at Harvard (2-4, 0-0 EIVA) | Live Stats | Watch
Saturday, Jan. 18 – 5 p.m. ET
#17 Penn State (0-4, 0-0 EIVA) vs. #6 USC (6-0, 0-0 MPSF) | Live Stats | Watch
OPENING NOTES
• Penn State opens EIVA play this week as it travels to Massachusetts for a pair of matches against Harvard.
• The Nittany Lions are tied with Princeton as the highest-ranked EIVA team at No. 17, followed by George Mason at No. 20. Harvard was in the national poll before dropping out this week.
• Penn State was voted the preseason favorite in the EIVA, while Harvard was picked fifth.
• The Nittany Lions have an active streak of 38 consecutive wins in EIVA regular season matches. It is the longest such streak in conference history. Their last EIVA regular season loss came at George Mason on April 3, 2021. The streak includes eight wins over Charleston (WV), six each over George Mason, Harvard, NJIT, and Princeton, and two each over Sacred Heart, Saint Francis, and St. Francis Brooklyn.
SERIES HISTORY - HARVARD
• Penn State and Harvard will meet for the 30th time. The teams first played in 2000.
• The Nittany Lions have won 10 straight matches in the series. Their last loss came in the semifinal round of the 2018 EIVA Tournament.
SCOUTING HARVARD
• Harvard is 2-4 following losses to Lincoln Memorial (3-2) and Purdue Fort Wayne (3-0) last week. The Crimson have wins over St. Thomas Aquinas (3-0) and Merrimack (3-0).
• The Crimson were nationally-ranked for three straight weeks before dropping out this week.
• Harvard ranks first in the EIVA in aces/set (1.68). Logan Shepherd leads the way with 11.
• Brian Thomas, a 7-0 middle blocker, leads the conference in blocks/set (1.16).
CAREER HIGHS SET LAST WEEKEND
vs. #3 UCLA
• Matthew Luoma - digs (5)
at #6 USC
• Gaige Gabriel - kills (9), assists (1)
• Sean Harvey - assists (3), digs (5)
• Matthew Luoma - kills (14)
• Michael Schwob - kills (5)
STREAKS TO WATCH
Will Kuhns
• 3 straight matches with double-digit kills
• 4 straight matches with at least one ace
Ryan Merk
• 67 straight starts at libero
Michael Schwob
• 4 straight matches with at least one ace
UP NEXT
• Penn State plays a pair of non-conference matches against Saint Francis next week. The teams will meet in Loretto on Friday at 7 p.m., and will play in Happy Valley on Saturday at 4 p.m.