Penn State men’s volleyball ends the season with weekend series against George Mason

The No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions host the No. 16 George Mason Patriots in a weekend series with the EIVA No. 1 seed on the line.

The Nittany Lions enter the series with a 19-6 record while riding a six-game winning streak. They also sit at a perfect 8-0 in the EIVA. On the other side, the Patriots are 17-7 overall, with a 6-2 conference record. They are even hotter, entering the series with an 11-game winning streak.

The blue and white need just one victory to clinch the No. 1 seed and host the EIVA tournament, while George Mason needs to take both matches from the Nittany Lions to overtake the top seed and host the conference tournament.

“It’s nice to not have to watch other scores anymore. It comes down to what is happening in front of us,” coach Mark Pavlik said in his weekly media availability.

The first match takes place at 7 p.m. Friday with the rematch coming the next day at 4 p.m.

The final match of the season will be the Nittany Lions’ senior day.

Seniors Luke Snyder, Michael Valenzi, Michal Kowal, Toby Ezeonu and John Kerr will be the team’s seniors recognized on the final day.

The Patriots are entering Rec Hall with one of the hottest teams in the country and a couple of players who earned conference awards for their previous series.

Omar Hoyos took home offensive players of the week while Colin Heath received defensive player of the week for their performances against Harvard.

The Nittany Lions will look to use their wall up front to slow down the likes of Hoyos and others.

“They have a couple of really good hitters that if we’re not prepared and ready they’ll take advantage of us all night,” Pavlik said.

The blue and white will look to some of its seniors to slow down the offense. Middle blockers Ezeonu and Owen Rose will be a big factor on the defensive and offensive side for the home squad.

The team is also still working in freshman setter Michael Schowb, who continues to make substantial strides each week as he plays more.

“He’s starting to get a strong comfort level with a lot of our hitters,” Pavlik said.

His continued progress has been huge for the Nittany Lions as they continue to remain in the top 10 in the country.

His opposition, sophomore Georgi Zahariev, sets up a very good matchup between two young setters.

Both setters will set to a veteran squad with immense talent.

The ranked match up sets up a potential preview of the EIVA championship match, no matter the outcome of the upcoming matches.

“It’s going to be a good old-fashioned George Mason-Penn State matchup. Both teams know what they’re fighting for,” Pavlik said.

Andrew Deal is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email asd5765@psu.edu