Jan. 15, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The sixth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team dealt EIVA opponent Saint Francis (Pa.) a 3-0 (30-22, 30-20, 30-20) loss on Friday evening. The Nittany Lions improve to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
Senior Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) led the Lions with 16 kills on .560 hitting and redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) was second on the team with 14 kills. Redshirt sophomore Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 39 assists and junior libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) had a team-best 10 digs. Sunder recorded a match-high four aces and senior Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) tied with Sunder with three total blocks.
Penn State (3-1, 1-0 EIVA) registered a .398 attack percentage against the Red Flash. The Nittany Lions totaled 53 kills, 47 assists, nine aces, 32 digs and 6.0 total team blocks. PSU held Saint Francis (1-1, 0-1 EIVA) to just .081 hitting. The Red Flash posted 26 kills, 25 assists, one ace, 26 digs and 5.0 team blocks.
The first set started out close until a block by Sunder and freshman Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) put the Lions ahead for good. An SFU error, a Goas ace and a Sunder kill gave Penn State some breathing room with a 8-4 lead. The Red Flash fought back to within three twice, but by midway through the frame the Lions had a 15-10 advantage. The two squads traded points until two straight kills, one each from freshman Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and Sunder, had PSU leading by six, 18-12. After a Saint Francis timeout, Penn State's lead grew to eight, 24-16, after two kills by Lipsitz and one each from Price and Hendries. Each team registered two service errors to make it 28-19 in favor of Penn State. Despite a kill from SFU's Jordan Varee, kills from Lipsitz and Price closed out set one for Penn State, 30-22.
The Nittany Lions took a 3-1 lead in the second set thanks to a Price kill and a solo stuff and kill from Lipsitz. Penn State went on an 8-4 run for a six-point lead, 11-5, and Saint Francis called a timeout to regroup. The Red Flash managed to hold Penn State to no more than a six-point advantage, but was unable to move any closer thanks to errors on both sides of the net. The Nittany Lions had a seven-point lead, 19-12, after a Sunder ace when SFU called a second timeout. Two PSU service errors had the Red Flash within six, 20-14, but Penn State kept Saint Francis at bay with a kill from Price and dump by Goas. A Lipsitz kill sparked a 7-3 Penn State that was capped off by a putdown from Comfort for a 30-20 second two win.
The third and final set of the match had the Red Flash taking a 3-1 lead. Two SFU attack errors and a kill by senior Alan Mars (Rochester, N.Y.) had the score tied at 4-4. The score tied twice more before a Sunder ace put the Lions in the lead for the remainder of the set. SFU came within one point of tying the set on two occasions, but two Price putdowns, one from Sunder and an SFU error had Penn State leading 14-9 when Saint Francis called a timeout. Following the break, four PSU errors allowed the Red Flash to fight back within one, 16-15, but a Penn State timeout put the Lions back in control. Kills by Lipsitz and freshman Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.), as well as a joint stuff by Lipsitz and Price moved Penn State ahead by five, 21-16. An SFU kill put the Red Flash within four, 21-17, but the Lions took off on a 9-4 run to close out the set for a 30-20 Penn State win.
The Nittany Lions host an Alumni match on Saturday, Jan. 16 in the South Gym of Rec Hall at 3 p.m. Penn State is officially back in action on Saturday, Jan. 23 at Springfield. Action is set for 5 p.m.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2010 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.