March 23, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The sixth-ranked Nittany Lions (17-4, 8-0) used a balanced offense to secure a 3-0 (30-18, 30-22, 30-26) sweep of EIVA foe Juniata on Tuesday night. Penn State is back in action on Friday, March 26 against Princeton at 7 p.m.
Redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) led the Lions with 15 kills, while senior Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) posted 10 on a team-best .529 hitting percentage. Redshirt sophomore Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) tallied 43 assists and was one of four Nittany Lions with eight digs. Senior Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.), sophomore Ryan Wolf (York, Pa.) and freshman Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) also had eight digs apiece. Lipsitz led Penn State at the net with three blocks.
Penn State registered a .376 hitting percentage and held the Eagles to .193. The Lions posted 51 kills, six aces, 44 digs and 7.5 team blocks. Juniata recorded 39 kills, one ace, 27 digs and just 2.0 team blocks.
The Lions took a 4-1 lead to open the match before a Lipsitz kill and two JC errors gave PSU a 7-2 advantage. Two kills and a PSU error brought the Eagles within three, 8-5, but a 7-2 PSU run have Penn State leading by eight, 15-7. After a Juniata timeout, Penn State's lead hovered around eight points until three PSU errors had the Eagles back within six, 20-14. The Nittany Lions were unfazed and answered back with a 5-2 run for a 25-16 lead. Juniata took a second timeout and put down back-to-back kills. However, the Eagles registered three errors, while Lipsitz posted an ace and Goas notched a kill to give Penn State a 30-18 first set win.
Freshman Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) opened set two with an ace before two kills and a Price kills had Penn State leading 4-1. A Lion error and a kill by Ben Wolff had the Eagles within one, 4-3, before a 4-1 PSU run had the Lions ahead by four, 8-4. By midway through the set, the Nittany Lions were leading by seven, 16-9, after two straight kills. Juniata called a timeout and a PSU service error and a JC kill had the Eagles trailing by five, 16-11. A Juniata attack error moved Penn State ahead by seven, 18-11, and Penn State would maintain at least a six-point lead until an error by PSU and a Juniata block brought the Eagles within five, 24-19. A Lipsitz kill and a Lipsitz/Sunder stuff had the Lions surging ahead with a 26-19 lead. A Juniata timeout failed to slow the Lions who capitalized on three JC errors and a Comfort kill to win the set, 30-22.
The third and final set started out close with the Eagles taking the lead, 3-2, albeit temporarily. A service error and a Sunder kill put the Lions in front for good. Penn State was unable to break away until a 5-0 run, including two kills from Sunder and one from Comfort, had Penn State leading by five, 12-7, and the Eagles heading to the bench. After the break, Juniata worked back to within one, 14-13, but Penn State managed to get out of danger with kills by Comfort and Lipsitz for a 16-14 lead. A triple block by Wolf, Goas and Lipsitz, a Sunder kill and a JC error put Penn State back in a comfortable position with a 19-15 lead. Another Juniata timeout did little to slow Penn State. The Nittany Lions held on to the lead even when two Juniata kills and a PSU error allowed the Eagles as close as two, 28-26. Sunder came up big for the Lions at the end with a kill and an ace for a 30-26 third set 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.