Feb. 23, 2011
LORETTO, Pa. - The 11th-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (12-3, 5-0 EIVA) defeated Saint Francis, 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-18), in a midweek match up. The Nittany Lions are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 26 at George Mason.
Redshirt junior Joe Sunder (Greesnburg, Pa.) led the Nittany Lions with 16 kills, while sophomore Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) was second on the team with 14. Redshirt junior Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 41 assists and was second on the team with six digs. Senior Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) led the team with seven digs and Comfort had a match-high six blocks.
Penn State hit .343 against the Red Flash and totaled 52 kills, three aces, 28 digs and 11.0 team blocks. Saint Francis hit .194 and finished with 40 kills, three aces, 22 digs and 8.0 team blocks.
The first set started out close until SFU took a three-point lead, 13-10, forcing a PSU timeout. Penn State fought back to tie the set at 16-16 and used a Sunder kill and an error by Saint Francis to take a slim two-point edge, 18-16. Two PSU errors had the score knotted at 18-18, but kills from sophomore Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) and Sunder had Penn State back in the lead, 20-18. After a SFU timeout, two PSU errors and a Saint Francis kill tied it up at 21-21. Another SFU kill put the Red Flash into the lead anf sent Penn State to the bench. The Red Flash allowed Penn State one final point before claiming set one, 25-22.
The second set began much like the first with neither team taking control early. SFU took a two point lead 8-6, but a 4-0 run by PSU gave the Lions a 10-8 advantage. By midway through the set, the teams were neck-in-neck with the score tying eight times. Back-to-back Sunder kills and a joint stuff by sunder and sophomore Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) moved Penn State back into the lead by three, 21-18. SFU called a timeout, but Penn State continued to control the set. The Red Flash came within one point of tying the set, 23-22, but a service error and a Sunder kill gave Penn State set two, 25-23.
Penn State jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Red Flash got on the board. The Nittany Lions continued to dominate the set, maintaining at least a four-point advantage by midpoint of the set, 14-10. The teams traded points until Penn State embarked on a 7-2 run to secure a convincing 25-16 third set win.
Saint Francis took a 3-0 lead to open the fourth set, but Penn State capitalized on two SFU error and used a Turko kill to knot the score at 4-4. Saint Francis managed to grab a two-point edge, 6-4, but Penn State used a 4-0 run to jump in front. The Nittany Lions would not surrender control for the remainder of the frame. Saint Francis kept it close until, with a 14-12 lead, Penn State used a 3-0 run to increase the gap to five, 17-12. The Lions' lead grew to six, 20-14, before the Red Flash put forth one last charge to cut Penn State's advantage to four, 20-16. Saint Francis came within three, 21-18, before two Sunder kills and one each from Turko and Comfort ended the fourth set in favor of PSU, 25-18.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2011 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.