March 26, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The sixth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team claimed the 2010 EIVA title with a 3-0 (30-20, 30-24, 30-24) win against Princeton on Friday evening. Seniors Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.), Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.), Jason Ambrose (Barrington, Ill.) and manager Chris Birch were honored prior to the match.
Redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) led the Lions with 12 kills, while both Price and Lipsitz tallied 10 kills each. Redshirt sophomore setter Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 43 assists and had four blocks. Junior Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) had a team-best 14 digs and Price had 10. Lipsitz was a wall at the net with five blocks, while freshman Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) and Sunder had four blocks apiece.
The Nittany Lions registerer a .438 attack percentage and held the Tigers to .175. Penn State posted 48 kills, five aces, 44 digs and 11.5 total team blocks. Princeton finished with 41 kills, four aces, 29 digs and 6.5 team blocks.
Turko put the Lions on the board first to start the match, but a kill and two aces by Princeton had the Tigers ahead, 3-1. The Tigers maintained the lead until kills from Turko and Sunder had the Lions tying the score at 6-6. Penn State was unable to take the lead until three straight errors by Princeton gave PSU a slim 10-9 lead. A Lipsitz kill and two aces from sophomore Ryan Wolf (York, Pa.) gave Penn State a two-point lead, 13-11, but the Tigers were right back in it tying it up at 13-13. The score tied once more before back-to-back Turko kills and a Turko/Sunder stuff put the Lions up 17-14. After a Princeton timeout, PSU held on to at least a two-point lead until three errors by the Tigers put the Lions ahead by five, 22-17. Following a second Princeton timeout, the Nittany Lions closed out the set on an 8-3 run for a 30-20 win. Lipsitz, Wolf and Price each had a kill in the run.
The Tigers once again took a 3-1 lead, but moments later two consecutive Sunder kills put Penn State ahead, 5-4. Penn State stayed ahead until a 6-1 Tiger run had Princeton back in front, 16-15, midway through the frame. The score tied three times before a Price ace and Princeton error allowed Penn State to regain the lead, 20-18. The Tigers called a timeout, but Penn State's lead grew to four 24-20 thanks to kills by Sunder and Lipsitz and a Tiger error. Princeton fought back to within two, but two straight PSU kills had the Lions leading by four, 26-22. The Tigers took a second timeout, but Penn State closed out the set on a 5-2 run for a 30-24 victory.
The third set started out close, but a Price kill and a joint stuff by Sunder and Turko put Penn State in the lead, 7-5. The lead was shortlived as the Tigers managed to tie it up with two kills at 7-7. The score tied three more times before three straight Tiger errors, including a solo stuff by Ambrose, put Penn State in front, 13-11. The Nittany Lions were unable to break away from Princeton until the set began to come to a close. With PSU leading by three, 22-19, the Tigers took a timeout. Princeton came within two twice, but a Tiger service error and another Sunder kill had PSU surging ahead with a four-point lead, 25-21. Penn State won the set 30-24. Ambrose tallied two kills and three Princeton errors secured the triumph for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State is back in action tomorrow at Rutgers-Newark. Action is set to begin at 7 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.