UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State begins its EIVA Tournament title defense against Charleston in the semifinal round on Thursday at Rec Hall. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will stream free of charge on B1G+.
The winner between Penn State and Charleston moves on to Saturday's championship match, where it will play the winner between second-seeded NJIT and sixth-seeded Princeton.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Thursday, April 23 – 7 p.m.
Charleston (14-14, 4-8 EIVA) vs. No. 16 Penn State (20-7, 12-0 EIVA) | Live Stats | Watch
EIVA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Penn State has won 37 EIVA Tournament titles. George Mason is second among active league members with four tournament titles.
• The Nittany Lions have won 25 EIVA Tournament titles under current head coach Mark Pavlik.
• Penn State is the three-time defending EIVA Tournament champion.
• Seven current players -- Carter Dittman, Gaige Gabriel, Sean Harvey, Matthew Luoma, Ryan Merk, Owen Rose, and Michael Schwob -- played in the 2025 EIVA Championship match. Four current players -- Dittman, Merk, Rose, and Schwob -- played in the 2024 championship match. Just two current players -- Merk and Rose -- played in the championship win in 2023.
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State leads 22-1 in a series that began in 2016.
• Charleston ended a 20-match losing streak in the series with a win last season, but the Nittany Lions bounced back with two 3-0 wins on the road this season.
• Penn State is 11-1 against Charleston at Rec Hall.
• The Nittany Lions and Golden Eagles have never played against each other in the NCAA Tournament.
• Owen Rose has hit .429 with 1.46 kills/set and 1.46 blocks/set in eight career matches against Charleston. Sean Harvey has hit .407 with 3.62 kills/set and 1.38 digs/set in four career matches against the Golden Eagles.
SCOUTING CHARLESTON
• Charleston is 14-14 overall and finished fourth in the EIVA at 4-8. The Golden Eagles entered the postseason on a five-match losing streak, falling to Princeton (3-0), Penn State (3-0), Penn State (3-0), NJIT (3-1), and NJIT (3-1), but won their postseason opener 3-2 over Sacred Heart on Wednesday.
• Senior opposite Lucas Torres was a second-team All-EIVA selection, while sophomore setter Yotam Briger, sophomore middle blocker Braxton Francis, and sophomore opposite Max Nissen were all honorable mentions.
• Briger ranks first in the EIVA in assists/set (9.67).
LAST MATCH AGAINST CHARLESTON
• Sean Harvey hit .448 with 16 kills and three aces to lead Penn State to a sweep (25-20, 28-26, 25-20) over Charleston on April 4. Matthew Luoma was right behind him with 15 kills on .321 hitting. The Nittany Lions hit .313 as a team behind 29 assists by Michael Schwob.
• Penn State tallied eight aces in the sweep. In addition to Harvey’s three, Owen Rose totaled three and Bennett Wilson contributed two.
• Conrad Spidso was solid in a losing effort for the Golden Eagles, hitting .333 with 14 kills, five digs, and two blocks.
CAREER HIGHS SET LAST WEEKEND
vs. George Mason - Friday
Matthew Luoma - kills (23)
Bennett Wilson - digs (10)
vs. George Mason - Saturday
Sean Harvey - digs (15)
Tristan Hassell - kills (26), digs (7)
STREAKS TO WATCH
Sean Harvey
• 6 straight matches with double-digit kills
Ryan Merk
• 119 straight starts at libero
• 2 straight matches with double-digit digs
Owen Rose
• 92 straight starts at middle blocker
• 4 straight matches with at least five blocks
Bennett Wilson
• 6 straight matches with at least five digs
Team
• 16 straight wins against EIVA opponents
• 7 straight wins in EIVA Tournament matches
UP NEXT
• The winner of Thursday's match advances to the championship match on Saturday at 7 p.m.