April 18, 2009
Columbus, Ohio - The seventh-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team downed No. 11 Ohio State (30-21, 30-21, 30-27) Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio, for its 10th consecutive three-game sweep. The Nittany Lions improve to 25-3 while the Buckeyes fall to 14-10.
Senior middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio), senior opposite Ryan Sweitzer (Lancaster, Pa.) and redshirt outside hitter Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) all posted 13 kills in the match, with Holt's coming on .812 hitting. Junior outside hitter Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) collected seven kills as junior middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) notched five kills on .444 hitting. As a team, Penn State hit .500 for the match, including .762 in the first game (17-1-21), while holding Ohio State to hitting .188.
Redshirt freshman setter Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 43 assists while sophomore libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) picked up 15 digs. As a team, the Lions outdug the Buckeyes, 24-15.
Penn State posted five service aces, led by Price with four and Holt with one. The Nittany Lions also claimed the blocking battle, 11.0 to 6.0. Lipsitz notched five stuffs while Goas added in two, Sweitzer and Price posted three apiece and Holt notched two.
Behind kills from Price, Sweitzer, Lipsitz and Holt, the Nittany Lions took the 6-3 lead to start the match. A Sunder kill made it 11-5 and a Goas solo block along with kills from Sweitzer and Sunder, a Price ace and a triple block from Sweitzer, Sunder and Lipsitz pushed the score to 19-8. Two kills from Holt and one from Sweitzer gave Penn State the 25-14 lead before a Sweitzer kill ended the game, 30-21.
The second game remained close early on, with another solo Goas block coupled with a Lipsitz and Price block giving the Nittany Lions the 13-11 lead. Another Lipsitz and Price stuff along with a Sweitzer kill pushed the score to 15-12 and consecutive kills from Holt and Sunder made it 18-15. Two Ohio State hitting errors and a Holt kill aided the Lions in going up 21-16 before a Holt kill, another Buckeye attack error and a Lion block from Goas and Lipsitz gave Penn State the 24-18 lead. A Price kill from Del Valle made it 26-20 before kills from Sunder and Holt along with a Sweitzer and Holt block ended the game, 30-21.
Kills from Lipsitz and Sweitzer and two Ohio State errors gave Penn State the 15-11 lead in the third game. A solo Holt block along with two kills from the senior made it 20-17 before Ohio State fought back to tie the score at 23-23 behind a kill and back to back blocks. The teams traded points before a Holt kill and Buckeye attack error put Penn State ahead 26-24. An Ohio State kill and block again knotted the game and the teams traded kills before a Holt kill made it 28-27. Out of a Buckeye timeout, an Ohio State hitting error and a Lion triple block from Price, Lipsitz and Goas ended the game, 30-27.
The Nittany Lions have a bye in the EIVA Quarterfinals on April 25 before returning to Rec Hall to host the EIVA Semifinals on Thursday, April 30 at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The EIVA Championship will be Saturday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m. 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.