Penn State Men’s Volleyball Weekend Preview: 1/20 - 1/23
Last year, the Penn State Nittany Lions started off 4-0 before going on a three match losing streak when the toughest part of their schedule came around. After the three match losing streak, the Nittany Lions won 19 straight before losing to Princeton in the NCAA tournament semifinals.
This year, the blue and white are off to the same 4-0 and will enter the toughest part of their schedule. This is the first time that Penn State has started back to back seasons 4-0 since 2008-09.
The Nittany Lions are coming off of back to back sweeps against Daemen and Merrimack on Friday and Saturday. In those matches, the Nittany Lions recorded 70 kills while limiting their errors to 12 compared to their opponents’ 38 kills and 36 errors.
The Nittany Lions will need to keep that success going against No. 5 Pepperdine and No. 8 Stanford on Friday and Saturday.
The blue and white’s offense has been killing it for them so far, ranking 13th in kills and sixth in hitting percentage in the NCAA. One of the key pieces on the offense is John Kerr who has been outstanding for the Nittany Lions, ranking seventh in the nation with hitting percentage.
Penn State’s defensive front, which ranks fourth in blocks a set, will need to step up against Pepperdine’s premiere offense. Pepperdine ranks first in hitting percentage, seventh in aces per set and second in assists throughout all of college volleyball.
Stanford ranks eighth in total kills in the NCAA while having the 14th-best hitting percentage. The Blue and White have been able to force their opponents to have the third worst hitting percentage in college, but could face some problems against the Cardinals.
Owen Rose will be one of the key pieces for the Penn State defense throughout the weekend. Rose ranks second in the NCAA for blocks per set, first in block assists and first in total blocks.
One of the major concerns for Penn State going into the weekend is the serving errors that plagued the team in the early parts of the season. The Nittany Lion squad recorded 40 serving errors against Daemen and Merrimack.
This may be the first time all season that Penn State starts their three star players: Cal Fisher, Sam Marsh and Brett Wildman. Sam Marsh made his season debut on Saturday, but Fisher and Wildman have not seen the court since last season.
Penn State will take on Pepperdine and Stanford in Austin, Texas for the first time in program history. The Nittany Lions will look to keep their hot 4-0 start to the season going and improve their 4-17 all-time record against Pepperdine and 6-5 all-time record against Stanford.
Micheal Bolger is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mpb6233@psu.edu.
