The Penn State Nittany Lions men's volleyball program has had a long tradition at Penn State University. Founded by Tom Tait, Tait coached the team from 1976 to 1989, and was named a USA Volleyball All-Time great coach in 2007.
Mark Pavlik has been the head coach since 1995 after serving as an assistant coach for five years. He has led the team to every EIVA conference championship since 1995 with the exception of 1998. Under his guidance, Penn State finished as NCAA runners-up in 1995 and 2006 before winning it all in 2008. He also led the team to an NCAA record of 15 straight (1999–2013) NCAA Final Four appearances. Pavlik was awarded his first ever AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2008.
History 1982 Penn State made their first ever NCAA Championship match this year. Current head coach Mark Pavlik was a manager on the team. Penn State was swept by perennial powerhouse UCLA in the final at Rec Hall, led by future Olympic gold medalist and Most Outstanding Player Karch Kiraly.
1994 1994 was a historic year, as Penn State became the first non-California university to win the men's volleyball championship. Playing in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Lions defeated defending NCAA champion UCLA in a five-set match. After falling behind 2 sets to 1, UCLA looked to have the championship in their hands after being up 11–4 in the fourth set, needing to only get to 15. However, the Lions mounted a stunning comeback and went on an 11–1 run to take set four 15–12 and set five with the same score to win the national championship. It was then-head coach Tom Peterson's last year.
1997 Penn State got back to the final four, losing to UCLA in a five-set match in the semifinals. Senior Ivan Contreras was named the AVCA National Player of the Year, the first ever east coast player to win the award.
2006 After eight straight years of making the NCAA final four and losing in the semifinals, Penn State finally broke through. They defeated top ranked and top-seeded UC Irvine in the semifinals at Rec Hall in five games. Despite the successful semifinal result, Penn State lost to UCLA in the national championship.
2008
In the early 2008 season, Penn State swept UCLA for the first time since 1991, and also defeated west coast powers Hawai'i, Cal Baptist and Long Beach State. Penn State only lost one match in the regular season to George Mason, but got revenge on the Patriots in the EIVA tournament finals, securing their bid for their NCAA record tenth consecutive final four appearance. Penn State improved to 55–3 all time in the EIVA championship.
Penn State was the top seed in the final four, the first time in the history of the men's volleyball tournament that a non-west coast university was the top seed. The final four was held in Irvine, California at the Bren Events Center from May 1–3. After defeating Ohio State in the semifinals, Penn State met Pepperdine in the final. After dropping the first set, Penn State went on to win the next three to defeat the Waves in four games. Matt Anderson, the AVCA Co-National Player of the Year, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Four other Penn State players were named All Americans.
Pepperdine head coach Marv Dunphy said earlier in the NCAA tournament that the 2008 Penn State men's volleyball team was the best men's volleyball team to ever come out of the east or midwest.
2013 In 2013, the Nittany Lions ended their season with a defeat by the BYU Cougars 0–3 (21–25, 16–25, 22–25) in the second semifinal of the NCAA championships on May 2, 2013, at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.
All-Americans The Penn State men's volleyball program has seen 98 AVCA All American honors. Year AVCA All-Americans 1971 Trevor Zahniser (HM) 1976 Tom Hahn (1st), John Phillips (1st), Dave Dicker (HM), Larry Wile (HM) 1981 Ahmet Ozcam (1st) 1982 Steve Hunkins (1st), Jeff Johnson (1st), Mike Guyon (HM), Chuck Kegerreis (HM), Bruce Van Horn (HM) 1983 Bruce Van Horn (HM) 1985 Javier Gaspar (HM), Bob Palka (HM) 1986 Chris Chase (1st), Javier Gaspar (2nd), Stew Russell (HM) 1987 Chris Chase (1st), Javier Gaspar (1st) 1988 Chris Chase (1st), Javier Gaspar (1st), Dave Bittner (HM), Robert Pierce (HM) 1989 Chris Chase (3rd), Robert Pierce (3rd), Guillo Silva (HM) 1990 Guillo Silva (3rd) 1991 Jorge Perez (2nd), Scott Miller (3rd), Charlie Bertran (HM) 1992 David Muir (2nd), Ramon Hernandez (3rd), Jim Schall (HM) 1993 Ramon Hernandez (3rd) 1994 Ramon Hernandez (1st), Ivan Contreras (2nd), Carlos Ortiz (HM), Ed Josefoski (HM) 1995 Ivan Contreras (1st), Carlos Ortiz (1st), Ed Josefoski (2nd), Kevin Hourican (HM) 1996 Ivan Contreras (1st), Kevin Hourican (2nd) 1997 Ivan Contreras (1st), Jason Kepner (2nd) 2000 Jose Quinones (3rd) 2001 Jose Quinones (1st), Carlos Guerra (HM), Zeljko Koljesar (HM) 2002 Jose Quinones (1st), Zeljko Koljesar (2nd), Ricky Mattei (2nd), Zach Slenker (2nd) 2003 Carlos Guerra (2nd), Keith Kowal (2nd) 2004 Keith Kowal (1st), Ricky Mattei (2nd) 2005 Nate Meerstein (1st), Keith Kowal (2nd), Matt Proper (2nd) 2006 Matt Proper (2nd) 2007 Matt Anderson (2nd) 2008 Matt Anderson (1st), Max Holt (1st), Dennis Del Valle (2nd), Max Lipsitz (2nd), Luke Murray (2nd) 2009 Max Holt (1st), Max Lipsitz (1st), Will Price (1st), Dennis Del Valle (2nd), Edgardo Goas (2nd) 2010 Max Lipsitz (1st), Dennis Del Valle (2nd) 2011 Joe Sunder (1st), Dennis Del Valle (2nd), Edgardo Goas (2nd) 2012 Joe Sunder (2nd) 2014 Aaron Russell (1st), Nick Goodell (HM) 2015 Aaron Russell (1st) 2016 Chris Nugent (HM) 2017 Chris Nugent (2nd), Calvin Mende (HM) 2018 Matthew McLaren (HM), Calvin Mende (HM) 2020 Brett Wildman (HM)2021Cal Fisher (2nd) Cole Bogner (2nd) Brett Wildman (2nd)2022Cal Fisher (2nd) Cole Bogner (2nd) Brett Wildman (1st)2023Cole Bogner (1st), Toby Ezeonu (1st), Cal Fisher (2nd), Michal Kowal (HM), Ryan Merk (HM), Owen Rose (HM), Brett Wildman (HM)2024John Kerr (1st), Toby Ezeonu (2nd), Ryan Merk (2nd), Owen Rose (HM)2025Ryan Merk (HM)2026Sean Harvey (2nd), Ryan Merk (HM), Owen Rose (HM)
National Awards Mark Pavlik has earned one National Coach of the Year award, while former head coach Tom Peterson got the accolade once as well. Two Penn State players have been named Player of the Year.
Year/Award National Coach of the Year National Player of the Year 1994 Tom Peterson 1997 Ivan Contreras 2008 Mark Pavlik Matt Anderson
All-time roster From 1973 to 2017, the All Time Roster contains 230-plus different student-athletes, including two Jeff Johnsons. The roster below includes all lettermen, red shirts, and partial years.