Jan. 7, 2010
HONOLULU, Hawaii - The No. 5 Penn State men's volleyball team (0-1) suffered a 3-0 (30-28, 30-24, 30-24) setback to No. 1 Southern California (1-0) in the opening match of the Hawaii Outrigger Invitational. The Nittany Lions take on No. 12 Hawaii on Friday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. HT (Midnight ET). Live stats and live audio will be available at Hawaiiathletics.com for Friday's match with the Warriors.
Redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) led the Nittany Lions with 14 kills and senior Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) finished second on the team with 11. Redshirt sophomore Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished our 37 helpers and led the team with six digs. Freshman Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) had a team-best two aces and tied with Lipsitz with two blocks.
The Nittany Lions attacked at a .208 clip totaling 45 kills. The team posted 43 assists, five aces, 23 digs and 4.0 total team blocks. USC recorded a .393 attack percentage. The Trojans totaled 48 kills, 46 assists, three aces, 32 digs and 8.5 team blocks.
Lipsitz opened the match for the Nittany Lions after a long rally for a kill, but the Trojans answered back with a kill from Riley McKibbin and a joint stuff for a 2-1 lead. Two USC service errors had the teams tied at 3-3. The Trojans went on to tally the next three points sending the Lions to the bench for a timeout. Penn State worked to within two, 9-7, thanks to two USC errors, a Price kill and an ace from freshman Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.). However, USC was back up by four, 11-7, after two PSU errors and a kill from Austin Zahn. Two PSU aces and two Lipsitz kills brought the Lions within one, 12-11, and the Trojans took a timeout. USC went on a 5-1 run for a 17-12 advantage, but the Lions went on a 6-1 run of their own to tie the set at 18-18. Penn State took a slim one-point lead, 21-20, soon after courtesy of kills from Lipsitz and Price. USC took a two-point lead, 24-22, but the Lions managed to tie the set at 24-24 after back-to-back kills from Sunder. The score tied twice more before the Trojans notched three straight points off PSU errors. A Sunder kill and an attack error by USC brought the Lions within one, but USC grabbed the first set, 30-28, off a Lion service error.
The Nittany Lions took a 4-1 lead in the second set after kills from Price, Mars and Goas and a Turko ace. The Trojans worked to within one, 4-3, but Penn State was soon ahead by four, 9-5. Price, Lipsitz and Turko each tallied a kill and Goas notched an ace. USC took off on an 8-1 run for a 13-11 advantage. Kills by Price and Lipsitz kept the Lions within one, 14-13, but USC secured some breathing room off a Murphy Troy kill. The Nittany Lions took control of the lead, 17-15, after kills by Lipsitz, Price and Sunder, but USC stormed back into the lead after three Nittany Lions errors. Penn State managed to stay within two of the Trojans until USC took off on a 8-4 run to be in set-point position. Hunter Current closed out set two for the Trojans with a kill, 30-24.
Set three started out much like set two with the Lions taking a 4-1 lead. Kills by Lipsitz and Sunder, as well as USC errors moved Penn State ahead by five, 7-2. The Trojans worked to within four, 8-4, on two kills from Tri Bourne. Two Sunder kills, one by Comfort and a USC error have the Lions with a seven-point lead, 12-5. After a USC timeout, Penn State maintained at least a six-point lead until midway through the set when the Trojans posted four straight points to come within three, 15-12. Penn State held onto the lead, until two errors allowed USC to tie the set at 19-19. USC took the lead, 21-20, for the first time in the set moments later after two more Penn State errors. The Trojans built up a four point lead, 24-20, on two Tony Ciarelli kills and two PSU errors. Two kills from freshman Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and a USC error had the Lions within two, 25-23, but three USC kills put the Trojans at match-point. USC closed out the set with a kill, 30-24, to take the match.
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.