April 10, 2009
Princeton, N.J. - The seventh-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team improved to 22-3 with a three-game win over Princeton (30-16, 30-19, 30-18) Friday night in Princeton, N.J.
Redshirt freshman Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) led all players with 11 kills on .400 hitting as senior middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) pounded 10 kills without an error on 11 swings to hit .909. Junior outside hitter Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) notched nine kills while junior middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) posted eight kills on 10 swings. As a team, Penn State hit .459.
Redshirt freshman setter Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 37 assists while sophomore libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) picked up 14 digs and Goas collected seven. Penn State outdug Princeton, 25-14.
The Nittany Lions also claimed the blocking battle, 11.0 to 2.0, led by Holt with five, Lipsitz with four and Goas and Price with three each. Penn State also tallied seven service aces, as senior opposite Ryan Sweitzer (Lancaster, Pa.) recorded four.
Penn State jumped out to the 9-4 lead in the first game on a Lipsitz ace and kill before kills from Holt and Sweitzer aided the Lions in going on a 7-0 run to grab the 16-6 advantage. Two more Lipsitz kills along with a triple block from Sweitzer, Holt and Sunder pushed the Lion lead to 24-12 and another block, this one from Price, Holt and Goas, made it 27-15 before two Price kills ended the game, 30-16.
A Lipsitz kill put the Nittany Lions ahead 10-8 in the second stanza before kills from Price, Lipsitz and Sunder made it 14-10. Consecutive put-aways from Holt and Sunder gave Penn State the 16-12 advantage and another Sunder kill pushed the Lions up 20-14. A solo Lipsitz block put Penn State ahead 26-17 before a Sunder kill gave the Lions the game, 30-19.
The third game remained close early on, with a Sunder kill giving Penn State the 5-4 lead. Kills from Sunder and Price along with a Sweitzer ace pushed the Lions ahead 13-6 before a Price service ace made it 20-10. A Holt and Price block gave Penn State the 24-13 advantage and a Lipsitz kill along with a block by Lipsitz and sophomore Alan Mars (Rochester, N.Y.) pushed the lead to 28-15. Kills from Lipsitz and Mars ended the game, 30-18.
Penn State remains on the road, traveling to George Mason on April 11 before facing Ball State and Ohio State on the road on April 17-18. The Nittany Lions have a bye in the EIVA Quarterfinals on April 25 and then host the EIVA Semifinals on Thursday, April 30. The EIVA Championship will be Saturday, May 2 at Rec Hall, with the winner earning an automatic berth in the NCAA National Collegiate Semifinals on Thursday, May 7 in Provo, Utah. The NCAA National Collegiate Championship is slated for Saturday, May 9 in Provo, Utah.
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.