Penn State Sports Magazine
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5 0 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M C oach Mark Pavlik couldn't help but wonder how his Penn State men's volleyball team would fare in its season opener. Uncertainty prevails before the start of just about any season, but in the Nit- tany Lions' case, it was magnified by the severity of their graduation losses this year. Penn State had bid farewell to All-Americans Cole Bogner, Cal Fisher and Brett Wildman, along with a half- dozen additional contributors from a squad that had won the Eastern Inter- collegiate Volleyball Association regu- lar-season and tournament crowns and had reached the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in 2023. Against Central State, a Southern In- tercollegiate Athletic Conference team from Wilberforce, Ohio, Pavlik saw what he had hoped to see. Toby Ezeonu, a first-team Off The Block preseason All-American, shined in the Nittany Lions' 3-0 sweep Jan. 4 at Rec Hall, fin- ishing with 10 kills on 10 swings. The junior middle blocker became only the fourth player in program history to hit 1.000 in a match with a minimum of 10 attacks and the first since Max Holt went 12 for 12 against Harvard in 2009. Another preseason Off The Block All- American, sophomore libero Ryan Merk, had a match-leading 8 digs, while senior opposite hitter John Kerr finished with 7 kills. The Lions also got 22 assists from freshman setter Michael Schwob, help- ing them hit an impressive .508 as a team. "In an opening match where you're wondering what this team will be like after losing nine guys, I thought there were glimpses of what we could be," Pavlik said. "We had the opportunity to get some people in that have never been in uniform playing in Rec Hall when it counts. I thought that was beneficial for us. Those guys got the job done." The seventh-ranked Nittany Lions went on to win their next three matches, including a 3-2 victory over No. 16 Lewis on Jan. 6 at Rec Hall. Kerr was the star of Penn State's vic- tory over the Flyers, totaling 31 kills, the most by a Nittany Lion player since Aaron Russell amassed 32 against Ball State in 2015. He only had 5 kills after the first two sets but then took over the match with 11 in the third set and 14 in the fourth. PSU dropped the latter, a 31-29 marathon, but never trailed in the decisive fifth set, with Ezeonu provid- ing 6 kills on .750 hitting to deliver a 15-13 victory. Afterward, Pavlik noted the similari- ties between his Nittany Lions and the visiting Flyers, who hail from Rome- oville, Ill., and are in the midst of their own extensive rebuild. "Hats off to Lewis," Pavlik said. "They're in a similar situation as us try- ing to figure out how to get better than they were last year with so many new players on the court. "It wasn't a clean match by any stretch of the imagination, but it was one where some grittiness was needed and some discipline at the right times was needed. With this group showing us that, it was a good step for us today." Despite their overhaul, the Nittany Lions went into their 2024 campaign picked to finish first in the preseason EIVA coaches' poll, garnering five of six first-place votes. This was not a sur- prise; the Lions have finished atop the league standings 35 times. In addition, Ezeonu and junior outside hitter Michal Kowal were named players to watch by the coaches. Before starting their conference sea- son at Princeton on Feb. 16, the Lions were set to take a big step up in compe- tition, with matches in Austin, Texas, against Stanford on Jan. 19 and UCLA the following day. After that comes a home- and-home series against Ohio State (Jan. 25 in Columbus and Jan. 28 at Rec Hall), followed by a trip to Ball State (Feb. 2). All four of those upcoming opponents were ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll as of Jan. 8, with the Bruins occupying the No. 1 spot. They figure to give the Lions an even better idea of how much progress they've made in their rebuilding effort, and how much work remains. ■ Learning Opportunity A rebuilt PSU men's volleyball team has many questions to answer this spring M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Junior middle blocker Toby Ezeonu (left) was second on Penn State's team with 45 kills through its first four matches. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS OLYMPIC SPORTS