UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State Men's Volleyball turns its attention to conference play for the remainder of the regular season as its final eight matches are against EIVA opponents. The stretch starts with a pair of matches against Charleston Friday and Saturday at Rec Hall.
Friday's match is the team's annual White Out and will start at 7 p.m. Saturday's match is Senior Day and starts at 3 p.m. The ceremony to honor the team's three seniors -- Matt Cosgrove, Cole Ignaszak, and Will Kuhns -- will be held after the match.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Friday, March 28 – 7 p.m.
Charleston (10-11, 4-2 EIVA) at Penn State (5-13, 2-2 EIVA) | Live Stats | Watch
Saturday, March 29 – 3 p.m.
Charleston (10-11, 4-2 EIVA) at Penn State (5-13, 2-2 EIVA) | Live Stats | Watch
PROMOTIONS/THEME
• Friday - White Out
• Saturday - Senior Day
OPENING NOTES
• Penn State's final eight matches of the regular season are against EIVA opponents.
• The Nittany Lions have won each of the past four EIVA regular season titles. Princeton was the last team other than Penn State to do so and earned hosting rights for the conference tournament in 2019.
• The road to this year’s regular season title will be unpredicatable and may go down to the last week as five of the seven teams are within one loss of each other. George Mason and Princeton currently lead the way at 3-1, Charleston and Harvard are right behind them at 4-2, and Penn State is next at 2-2.
• Penn State is set to play at Rec Hall for just the third and fourth time this season. The Nittany Lions have played matches in Illinois, Texas, Ohio, Massachussetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arizona, and Hawaii.
• Fortunately for the Nittany Lions in their quest for the EIVA regular season title is that six of their final eight matches are at Rec Hall. They have won 21 straight matches at home, including both this season.
LAST TIME OUT
• Penn State pushed No. 12 Ball State to five sets in its final match of the Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu.
• Matthew Luoma hit .350 with a career-high 19 kills for the Nittany Lions. Will Kuhns joined him in double-digits with 15 kills. Ryan Merk led the defensive effort with 11 digs and was named to the Outrigger Invitational All-Tournament Team.
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State and Charleston will meet for the 20th and 21st time. The teams first played in 2016.
• The Nittany Lions are unbeaten in the series at 19-0, including a 10-0 record against the Golden Eagles at Rec Hall.
• Penn State has lost just three sets in the first 19 matches of the series.
• Owen Rose has been efficient offensively and strong defensively in his four career matches against Charleston, hitting .432 with 1.62 kills/set and 1.15 blocks/set. Michael Schwob has been the starting setter for two matches against the Golden Eagles and has led Penn State to .304 hitting while averaging 11.14 assists/set and 1.43 digs/set.
SCOUTING CHARLESTON
• Charleston is 10-11 overall and 4-2 in the EIVA in Robert Poole’s first season as head coach. The Golden Eagles are coming off back-to-back wins over Wittenberg (3-0) and Thomas More (3-0).
• The Golden Eagles were picked sixth in the EIVA Preseason Poll. Redshirt junior outside hitter Liam French and sophomore opposite Jackson Herbert were named Players to Watch.
• Charleston ranks first in the EIVA in assists/set (11.87), digs/set (9.13), and kills/set (12.45). Senior setter Paul Stommel ranks first in the conference in assists/set (9.76).
CAREER HIGHS SET LAST WEEKEND
vs. #5 USC (3/13)
• Gaige Gabriel - blocks (8)
at #3 Hawaii (3/15)
• Carter Dittman - kills (2)
vs. #12 Ball State (3/15)
• Carter Dittman - digs (6)
• Matthew Luoma - kills (19)
STREAKS TO WATCH
Will Kuhns
• 2 straight matches with double-digit kills
Ryan Merk
• 79 straight starts at libero
• 2 straight matches with double-digit digs
UP NEXT
• Penn State is back at Rec Hall for two more EIVA matches when it hosts Sacred Heart on April 4-5.
• The Pioneers are 6-11 overall and 0-6 in the conference after three straight wins over FDU (3-1), Merrimack (3-1), and St. Thomas Aquinas (3-2).