Jan. 30, 2009
Loretto, Pa. - The-top ranked Penn State men's volleyball team improved to 6-0 and 2-0 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Friday night with a three-game sweep at No. 14 Saint Francis (30-19, 30-26, 30-21).
Three Nittany Lions reached double-digit kills in the win, led by junior outside hitter Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) with 15 kills on .444 hitting. Senior opposite Ryan Sweitzer (Lancaster, Pa.) and junior middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) both pounded 10 kills as senior middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) provided eight kills on 10 swings with only one error to hit .700. As a team, Penn State attacked at a .402 clip for the match.
Redshirt freshman setter Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) directed the Nittany Lion offense with 41 assists and chipped in seven digs and sophomore libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) picked up nine digs to lead the defense. Redshirt freshman Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) chipped in five digs to go along with his six kills.
Penn State posted six service aces in the contest, with Holt racking up four more winners to add to his team-leading season total of 25. Holt holds the single-season record of 55 aces, which he set in 2007. Overall, the Nittany Lions have 52 service aces already this season.
The Red Flash claimed the blocking battle, 9.0 to 5.0. Lipsitz led the Lions with three stuffs as Price and Sunder notched two blocks apiece and Holt and Goas both provided one.
Penn State started off the match with a 4-0 run aided by a Holt ace and kills from Sweitzer and Lipsitz. The Lions remained on top, going ahead 14-7 on another Holt ace and a Price put-away. A Sweitzer ace pushed Penn State up 18-10 and consecutive Holt kills made it 20-13. Lion kills from Sweitzer and Price gave the Nittany Lions the 24-15 advantage and a Lipsitz kill and block from Sunder and Lipsitz made it 28-17 before a Saint Francis service error gave Penn State the game, 30-19. Lipsitz was perfect on all six of his swings in the stanza as the Lions attacked at a .516 clip with 21 kills.
The second set remained close throughout, with a Holt kill pushing the Lions ahead 10-6. Saint Francis pulled within three at 14-11 on a Penn State attack error, but kills from Price along with Red Flash errors gave the Lions the 21-16 advantage. Put-aways from Price and Goas made it 26-22 before consecutive Price kills ended the stanza, 30-26. Price racked up 10 kills on 15 swings while hitting .600 as while Del Valle picked up five digs and Goas added in four.
A Sunder kill put Penn State ahead 10-8 in the third game and the Nittany Lions maintained the slight advantage, going up 14-12 on a Lipsitz kill and 17-14 on a Sunder service ace. Back to back Holt aces pushed Penn State in front, 20-15, and a kill from senior middle hitter Jon Sherrick (Mountville, Pa.) gave the Lions the 22-16 lead. A Sunder and Lipsitz block made it 25-17 and back to back Holt and Sunder kills pushed the score to 28-20 before a Holt kill ended the game, 30-21.
Penn State returns to Rec Hall to host Springfield College on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Admission is free and Gametracker and live video will be available at www.GoPSUsports.com.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2009 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets At Hershey.