March 27, 2010
NEWARK, N.J. - The sixth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (18-5) suffered a 3-1 (28-30, 28-30, 30-24, 28-30) setback to Rutgers-Newark (9-10) on Saturday evening. Senior Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) led Penn State with 18 kills.
Redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) finished the match second on the team with 14 kills, while senior Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) posted 12 on .421 hitting. Redshirt sophomore setter Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 37 assists while sharing setting duties with sophomore Tor Covello (Yardley, Pa.) who contributed 15. Junior libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) registered 20 digs, while Lipsitz and Goas each put up three blocks.
The Scarlet Raiders attacked at a .277 clip with the Lions not far behind at .250. Penn State totaled 63 kills, five aces, 47 digs and 7.0 total team blocks. Rutgers-Newark posted 62 kills, eight aces, 43 digs and 12.0 team blocks.
The first set started out close with the score tying three times before two Scarlet Raider errors gave PSU a 7-5 advantage. The lead was short-lived as back-to-back errors by the Lions had the score knotted at 7-7. By midway through the set, Penn State had a slim 15-14 lead thanks to a Price kill. However, a kill by Rutgers' Austin Pappas had the score once again tied at 15-15. The lead changed hands four times before a Rutgers attack error and a Goas ace put the Lions ahead 22-20. Penn State was unable to build any momentum as three more kills by Pappas kept the Scarlet Raiders right with the Lions. A Price kill moved the Nittany Lions ahead 24-23, but two straight putdown by Rutgers had the Scarlet Raiders in front, 25-24. A PSU timeout allowed the Lions to tie the score at 25-25 as Price notched another kill, but two more errors gave the Raiders some much-needed momentum. Three kills by the Raiders would secure set one for Rutgers-Newark, 30-28.
Set two was much like the first with neither team developing a substantial lead. Near the halfway point of the set, the Scarlet Raiders were leading, 13-10, but a 3-0 run by Penn State had the score tied at 13-13. Sunder had two kills in the run. Two consecutive blocks by Rutgers-Newark had the Raiders back in front, 15-13. Penn State capitalized on two Raider errors and a kill by freshman Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) to tie the set at 17-17. Rutgers-Newark took a 20-18 lead on a kill by Jon Keller and block, but the Nittany Lions used two Sunder kills and one from Lipsitz for a 22-21 lead. Penn State's lead grew to four, 25-21, but a 5-0 Rutgers-Newark run had the Raiders back in the lead, 27-26. A Sunder kill knotted the score at 27-27, but putdowns by Marcin Midura and Pappas along with a PSU attack error gave Rutgers-Newark a 30-28 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Despite the Raiders taking a 6-3 lead to start the third set, Penn State tied it up at six with a 3-0 run. After a Mark Kochan kill, a Comfort kill and a Rutgers error gave PSU the lead 8-7. The Scarlet Raiders answered back with a 5-0 run for a 12-8 advantage, but PSU cut it to two with a Goas kill and a Rutgers error. Rutgers-Newark continued to maintain the lead until the set was coming to a close. Trailing by two, 22-20, Penn State used a 3-0 run for a 23-22 edge. The score tied twice more before a 6-0 run by the Lions gave Penn State a convincing 30-24 win. Sunder had three kills in the run, while the Raiders aided the Lions charge with three errors.
Rutgers-Newark opened the fourth and final set taking a 3-1 lead. A 4-1 PSU run had Penn State in front, 5-4. The Nittany Lions were unable to gain any momentum and soon after the Raiders had a 10-7 lead. Despite eight kills from Price during the set, the Scarlet Raiders managed to tally the crucial points to keep the lead. With the set tied at 26-26, a Midura kill and a Zornig ace put Rutgers up 28-26. A kill by freshman Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) and another by Price sandwiching a putaway by Midura, had the Lions down by one, 29-28. Scarlet Raider Eduardo Hernandez gave Rutgers the 30-28 fourth set win.
The Nittany Lions are back in action on Thursday, April 1 at Ball State before traveling to IPFW on Friday, April 2. Both matches are 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.