Nittany Lions Open Road Trip Against Golden Eagles (MVB Series Preview)
- bryanportney01
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
No. 15 Penn State (14-7, 6-0 EIVA) at Charleston (13-10, 4-4 EIVA)
Dates: Friday, April 3 / Saturday, April 4
Times (EST): 7:00 PM / 3:00 PM
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center (Charleston, WV)
Watch: Mountain East TV
Live Stats: SideArm Stats
Storylines
Quick Preview: Tough Road Environment
The Nittany Lions are fresh off of three consecutive wins against AVCA ranked opponents, including two wins in straight sets over No. 19 NJIT.
Despite that, the Wehrle Innovation Center has not been the kindest to road teams, as Charleston has enjoyed a 9-3 home record there this season with a 3-1 clip in EIVA play.
Nittany Lions Sweep EIVA Weekly Honors
Outside hitter Sean Harvey notched his third EIVA Offensive Player of the Week award of the season after hitting .411 with 39 kills and 44 points, all in 10 sets of work.
Middle blocker Owen Rose earned his second EIVA Defensive Player of the Week award of the season after recording 16 total blocks and four aces.
Keeping Up The Ball
The Golden Eagles have been the floor generals of the EIVA this season, leading the conference in extend rally % with a 42.28 mark.
Extend rally % is a relatively new metric created by Bryan Portney of BPort Sports that measures how often opponent swings do not immediately end the rally by adding together opponent kills and attack errors, then dividing its sum by the opponent’s total attacks.
Source: EIVA Defense Numbers
The Head-to-Head History of Hawaii-Penn State (Source: 2025 MVB Record Book/2025 Men's Volleyball Schedule)
Penn State is 20-1 against Charleston all-time. Their last meeting was on March 29, 2025, when Charleston beat Penn State 3-1 on the road.
Penn State is 9-0 against Charleston at Wehrle Innovation Center all-time, with their last meeting of that kind being on April 6, 2024 when Penn State swept Charleston.
Charleston has won the last one head-to-head meeting dating back to 2025. Penn State last beat Charleston on March 28, 2025 in a sweep at home.
No. 15 Penn State at Charleston: By The Numbers
No. 15 Penn State | Offense | Charleston |
819 (11.38) | Kills (per set) | 989 (12.21) |
.262 | Hitting Percentage | .259 |
101 (1.40) | Aces (per set) | 114 (1.41) |
No. 15 Penn State | Defense | Charleston |
622 (8.64) | Digs (per set) | 738 (9.11) |
.214 | Opp Hitting Percentage | .221 |
202 (2.81) | Blocks (per set) | 178.5 (2.20) |
Players To Watch
Players to Watch include four players, each of which is selected for excelling at any of these categories: Attacking (OPP/OHs/MBs), Blocking (MBs), Setting (S) and Floor Defense (L).
No. 15 Penn State
OH1 Sean Harvey, R-So.
Offense: 4.07 pts/set, 3.44 kills/set, .311 hit %
Defense: 1.44 digs/set, 0.25 RE/set
MB2 Owen Rose, R-Sr.
Offense: 2.28 pts/set, .368 hit %, 0.34 aces/set
Defense: 1.37 blocks/set
S Michael Schwob, Jr.
Offense: 5.70 assists/set
Defense: 0.91 digs/set, 0.41 blocks/set
L Ryan Merk, R-Sr.
Defense: 2.31 digs/set, 0.19 RE/set, .407 opp kill %
Charleston
OH1 Max Nissen, Jr.
Offense: 3.62 pts/set, 3.28 kills/set, .258 hit %
Defense: 1.15 digs/set, .956 rec %
MB1 Braxton Francis, So.
Offense: 2.11 pts/set, .429 hit %, 0.28 aces/set
Defense: 0.80 blocks/set
S Yotam Briger, So.
Offense: 9.77 assists/set
Defense: 1.73 digs/set, 0.70 blocks/set
L Mikolaj Daszkiewicz, So.
Defense: 1.11 digs/set, .936 rec %, .458 opp kill %
Quick Picks & Analysis
Friday
Bryan: If there’s any chance for the Nittany Lions to be tripped up by this defensive-heavy Golden Eagle team, it would be tested in this one. If the focus is steady, however, the blue and white will cruise. No. 15 Penn State 3, Charleston 0.
Saturday
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