Feb. 26, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 11th-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (13-3, 6-0 EIVA) swept conference foe George Mason (11-4, 6-1 EIVA), 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20), Saturday evening. Penn State hit a season-high .461 against the Patriots.
Redshirt junior Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) led the Nittany Lions with 16 kills, while sophomore Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) posted 15 on .565 hitting. Redshirt junior Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) tallied 34 assists and had a team-best nine digs. Comfort and sophomore Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) each put up five blocks.
Penn State totaled 50 kills, two aces, 31 digs and 11.0 total team blocks against George Mason. The Patriots finished the match hitting .196 with 36 kills, one ace, 24 digs and 4.5 team blocks.
The teams went back and forth to start the first set with GMU taking a slim 7-5 lead. Back-to-back Sunder kills and an ace moved Penn State into the lead, 8-7. The Patriots tied the set at 8-8, but another Sunder kill and a GMU error put PSU back up by two, 10-8. PSU held onto the lead despite George Mason tying the set twice. Kills from Comfort and freshman Jace Olsen (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) pushed PSU's lead to two, 16-14, but two straight Patriot kills kept GMU had the score at 16-16. A Comfort putdown and two GMU errors gave Penn State a 19-16 lead. The Patriots managed one final kill before a 4-2 Penn State run secured set one for the Nittany Lions, 25-19.
Penn State took a 3-0 lead to start the second stanza and increased that lead to five points, 12-7, with an offensive push by Goas, Olsen and sophomore Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.). George Mason fought to within three, 13-10, but two Sunder putdowns had Penn State back ahead by five, 15-10. GMU came within two, 15-13, but Penn State maintained at least a two-point lead for much of the remainder of the set. Kills from Comfort and Turko increased Penn State's advantage to four, 21-17, and forced a George Mason timeout. Turko notched an ace after the break before a kill and a service error by GYM had PSU with a 23-18 lead. A joint stuff by Hendries and Comfort had PSU at set-point before Hendries pounded a kill for a 25-19 second set win.
The Nittany Lions opened the final frame with a 3-0 lead, but a 5-2 run by GMU had the score knotted at 5-5. The score tied twice more before a Comfort kill and a block by Olsen and Turko had Penn State ahead by two, 9-7. The Nittany Lions held on to at least a two-point lead for much of the set. With an 18-16 lead, three straight kills, one each from Comfort, Goas and Turko, had Penn State ahead by five, 21-16. The Patriots came within four, 22-18, but it was the closest they would come as two Comfort won the third set for PSU, 25-20.
What's Next?
Penn State remains on the road traveling to Springfield (3/5), UCLA (3/9), UC Santa Barbara (3/11) and Long Beach (3/12). The Nittany Lions return home to host Ball State and IPFW on March 18-19.
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.