Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1490816
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 4 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T here was a moment in the third set of Penn State's visit to Ohio State on Jan. 7 that, to coach Mark Pavlik, exemplified the kind of gritty intensity he wants to see from his Nittany Lion men's volleyball team this year. Senior opposite hitter John Kerr was on the left side of the court, looking to find some way of getting the ball past a Buckeye block even though a bad pass had left him with few options. "Everyone in the gym knew the ball had to go to him," Pavlik said. "There were three blockers, and he went up and over all three. That's the way he played all night long." Kerr finished with a career-high 21 kills, displaying his competitive mettle in a 3-1 victory for the Lions. In so doing, he showed why the team was ranked No. 4 in the country to open the season. This year's Lions are deep and experi- enced, with nine of their 22 players listed as either graduates or seniors. Among the four players in the former group are opposite hitter Cal Fisher, a two-time second-team All-American, and outside hitter Brett Wildman, a three-time All- American and two-time Eastern Inter- collegiate Volleyball Association Player of the Year. The Lions also have an honorable mention All-American in junior middle blocker Toby Ezeonu, who led the nation with a .528 hitting percentage during a breakthrough sophomore season. They return an offensive and defensive force in graduate middle blocker Sam Marsh, and they have a veteran orchestrating the attack in graduate setter Cole Bogner, a two-time All-American and the 2021 EIVA Player of the Year. "Those guys are going to be counted on to score points," Pavlik told Volley- ballMag.com. "You give those weapons to Cole Bogner, and he's been with those guys his entire career. I think there's a great connection between him and the hitters. Cole might be one of the most competitive guys that we have, which is a great trait for a setter." Penn State roared to a 6-0 start in Jan- uary. In addition to the win over the Buck- eyes in Columbus, the Lions topped Cen- tral State University 3-1 in their opener Jan. 6 and earned home sweeps over Dae- men on Jan. 13 and Merrimack the follow- ing night. A week later, they headed to the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, Texas, and took down No. 5 Pepperdine and No. 8 Stanford by identical 3-1 scores. The conference race will shape up dif- ferently than in years past because the OLYMPIC SPORTS Junior middle blocker Toby Ezeonu was an honorable mention All-American last year after leading the nation with a .528 hitting percentage. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS Deep Impact Boasting an abundance of veteran talent, the PSU men's volleyball team brings high hopes into the 2023 season M AT T H E R B | M A T T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M