UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 3 Penn State men’s volleyball closes the regular season with a pair of EIVA matches against Charleston (WV) in the South Gym at Rec Hall on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s match is scheduled for 7 p.m., while Saturday’s contest is set for 4 p.m.
The Nittany Lions are 22-3 overall and 8-0 in the conference. They have already clinched the EIVA regular season title for the third-consecutive season and earned the right to host the conference tournament at Rec Hall next week. Charleston is having one of the best seasons in program history at 22-4 overall and 5-3 in league play.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Charleston (22-4, 5-3 EIVA) at #3 Penn State (22-3, 8-0 EIVA)
Match 1
Date: Friday, April 14
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall South Gym
Watch: B1G+
Stats: Live Stats
Match 2
Date: Saturday, April 15
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: Rec Hall South Gym
Watch: B1G+
Stats: Live Stats
ENTRANCE
• All fans attending this weekend’s matches in South Gym are asked to use the Hepper Fitness Center entrance.
PARKING
• Parking for all Penn State Athletics’ non-football events will require a valid permit or payment of the applicable parking fee for campus lots. Fans with valid Penn State University Park parking permits will be permitted to park at non-football athletics events for free, following Transportation Services parking policies and access.
• Parking for men’s volleyball matches, fans are asked to park in the Nittany Deck or West Deck. Fans without a permit are encouraged to prepay for event parking at a discounted rate of $6.00 through ParkMobile – https://psu.parkmobile.io/. Prepayment is available through 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each event. Event day parking will be $10 per vehicle and is cash only/can be purchased on the ParkMobile app.
•Parking for all non-football athletics events is managed by Penn State Transportation Services. For more information or questions, visit transportation.psu.edu or email [email protected].
CLEAR BAG POLICY
SERIES HISTORY
- Penn State is undefeated at 15-0 in the all-time series against Charleston (WV). The teams first played in 2016.
- The Lions are 45-1 in sets against the Eagles. The Eagles’ lone set win came in the most recent match last season.
- Penn State is 8-0 against Charleston in matches played at Rec Hall.
SCOUTING CHARLESTON
- Charleston is 22-4 overall, 5-3 in the EIVA, and ranked No. 15 in the nation after dropping both of its matches against Princeton last weekend.
- The Eagles already have more wins this season (22) than they had the previous three seasons combined (17).
- Charleston ranks first in the conference in blocks/set (2.66), digs/set (9.57), hitting percentage (.335) and opponent hitting percentage (.178).
- Curtis Raines leads the conference in digs/set (1.89). Veit Bils ranks first in blocks/set (1.08).
PENN STATE NOTES & STATS
- Penn State remained at No. 3 in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll. The Lions have been ranked in the top three for 10 consecutive weeks.
- The Lions have won 26 straight EIVA regular season matches. The streak includes eight matches this season, all 16 last season, and the final two of the 2021 season. The last EIVA regular season loss came at George Mason on April 3, 2021.
- Additionally, the Lions have won 25 consecutive sets in EIVA regular season play.
- Two Penn State players have a chance to reach career milestones by the end of their final season. Cole Bogner is 95 assists away from reaching 4,000 for his career, while Cal Fisher needs 27 kills to reach 1,000. At minimum, the Lions have two regular season matches and one EIVA Tournament match remaining. Brett Wildman already eclipsed the 1,000-kill milestone earlier this season.
- The Lions lead the nation in aces/set (2.04). Fisher and Wildman rank fourth and ninth, respectively. Wildman matched a career high with seven in the first win over George Mason last week.
- Penn State clinched the EIVA regular season title for the third consecutive season. The last team other than Penn State to win a regular season title was Princeton in 2019.
- The Lions have the third-best winning percentage (.880) in the nation, trailing only UCLA (.926) and Hawaii (.923). Charleston is fifth with a winning percentage of .846.
- Eight players will be honored for Senior Day prior to Saturday’s match — Cole Bogner, Jack Driscoll, Cal Fisher, Gabe Hartke, Tim Herget, Sam Marsh, Jack Shampine, and Brett Wildman.
UP NEXT
- Penn State will be the top seed and will host the EIVA Tournament at Rec Hall on April 19, 20, 22. The Lions open the tournament in the semifinal round on the 20th, awaiting the winner between the No. 4 seed and No. 5 seed.
For more information on Penn State men’s volleyball, follow the Nittany Lions on Twitter @PennStateMVBALL and Instagram @pennstatemvball and “like” the Penn State men’s volleyball page on Facebook.
