Feb. 5, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The eighth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team earned a 3-0 (30-19, 30-22, 30-21) victory against Rutgers-Newark (1-5) on Friday evening. The Nittany Lions (7-2, 3-0 EIVA) are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. against Springfield.
Redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) led the Lions with 15 kills, while senior Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) and sophomore Ryan Wolf (York, Pa.) had 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Wolf's 14 kills were a career-high. Redshirt sophomore Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 41 assists and led the team with four blocks. Price a team-best two aces and junior Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) registered 14 digs.
The Nittany Lions attacked at a season-high .457, while holding the Scarlet Raiders to .202. Penn State totaled 55 kills, 48 assists, four aces, 34 digs and 7.5 total team blocks. Rutgers finished the match with 30 kills, 30 assists, 2 aces, 17 digs and 9.0 total team blocks.
Penn State opened the first set taking a 4-1 lead off three Raider errors and a Wolf kill. Rutgers fought back to tie the set at 8-8 with two kills by Martin Midura, one from Kenneth de Groh and two PSU service errors. The Raiders hung with the Nittany Lions, but PSU took control of the lead on two Raider errors, 12-10. Rutgers was within one, 16-15, by midway through the frame but kills from Wolf and senior Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) had PSU ahead by three, 18-15. Penn State maintained at least a two-point advantage until closing out the set on a 10-1 run for a 30-19 set one win. Price had four kills in the run, and Sunder, Wolf and freshman Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) each contributed one.
The Raiders were on the board first in set two after a kill by Jeff Zornig. The two teams traded points with Rutgers holding a slight edge until back-to-back Sunder kills put the Lions in front for the first time, 5-4. The score tied twice before a put down by Wolf and two more by Sunder had Penn State up, 10-7. Despite two PSU service errors, two Price kills maintained the Lions' three-point lead. The Raiders fought back to take the lead on two occasions, but a Penn State timeout prevented any attempt at a run by the Raiders. A dump by Goas put Penn State back in the lead, 17-16. A service error allowed Rutgers to tie it one last time before a Lipsitz kill gave PSU control for good. A triple block moved Penn State ahead by two, 19-17, but a Nate Stoll kill had Rutgers within one. Lipsitz tallied a kill before two Raider errors and a Sunder kill increased the gap to four, 23-19. After a Rutgers timeout, Price notched two kills and one by Wolf made it 26-20 in favor of Penn State. An ace from junior Thomas Pereira (Brasilia, Brazil), a Raider error and two PSU kills secured set two for the Nittany Lions, 30-22.
The Nittany Lions wasted no time in the third set and had a 5-0 lead before the Raiders could tally a point. Jon Keller put Rutgers on the board with a kill, but a Raider service error put the ball back in PSU control. A 4-1 run by the Raiders brought the team within two, 8-6, but it would be the closest Rutgers would come to taking over the lead. Halfway through the set, Penn State led 15-12 before a kill by Goas made it 16-12. The Nittany Lions kept the Raiders at least four points behind and a Rutgers attack error moved the Lions ahead, 25-19. After a Raider timeout, two Rutgers errors and kills from Sunder and Wolf put the Lions in match-point position. Sunder registered an ace to give Penn State a 30-21 win.
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.