No. 4 Penn State Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Charleston
No. 4 Penn State Men’s Volleyball dominates Charleston at home on Friday night.
This was the Nittany Lion’s ninth win in a row and they remain unbeaten at home and in conference play.
Although the team wasn’t playing in their regular home gym at Rec Hall, they were unfazed playing at South Hall capturing the sweep.
The big name in this one was Toby Ezeonu who was a defensive and offensive powerhouse for the Nittany Lions tying his career-high in blocks with seven along with seven kills.
“He’s probably got a wingspan of about 7’2. Length can do that against teams that aren’t so lengthy,” coach Mark Pavlik said. “It’s been a lot of fun to watch him just mature and figure the game out and figure out what his body can do that nobody else can.”
Other big contributors to the win were Brett Wildman who led the team in kills with eleven along with three blocks and Cal Fisher who had seven kills and two blocks.
“It is easy when you have great middles because then once the team starts to respect their things free up and it allows me to see more on the court,” Wildman said. “We know each other so well and our culture that has been developing over time allows us to thrive.
Penn State remains in the top spot of its conference with an 8-0 record in conference play and improves to 13-3 overall. The Charleston Eagles drop to 2-5 in conference play and are now 5-6 overall.
Pavlik has been thoroughly impressed with his team’s success in this campaign.
“I think the culture is their willingness to just embrace how a team has to win, how a team has to develop, not how a bunch of individuals do it,” Pavlik said. “They have much patience for each other but they demand a lot and have fun with each other. These guys have really committed to becoming the best team they can become.”
The Nittany Lions will face the Ohio State Buckeyes back-to-back.
The first game will take place in Columbus at 7 PM Tuesday, Mar. 8, and the second game will be at University Park at 4 PM on Mar. 13.
Wildman is ready for the matchup against one of his team's biggest rivals.
“We attack them the same way we attack all the other games we’ve played. It’s always fun playing them because it’s essentially our Big Ten schedule,” Wildman said. “I wouldn’t change are attack on the game, just come excited and ready to go,”
Walker Wiest is a fourth-year majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email wfw5150@psu.edu.
