April 15, 2011
Complete Results in PDF Format
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Penn State men's volleyball team (21-6) suffered a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-22) setback to Ball State (18-10). Redshirt junior Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) led all players with 13 kills.
Redshirt junior Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) paced the Nittany Lion offense with 37 assists, while senior Alan Mars (Rochester, N.Y.) had a match-high three aces. Sunder led Penn State with seven digs and tied with Mars for the team lead with two blocks.
Ball State hit .351 and held Penn State to .162. The Nittany Lions posted 41 kills, eight aces, 22 digs and 4.0 total team blocks. The Cardinals finished the match with 36 kills, two aces, 23 digs and 15.5 blocks.
The first set started out close, but Ball State had a 5-3 advantage after an ace and a PSU attack error. Ball State's lead continued to grow as a 7-2 run by the Cardinals had BSU up by seven, 12-5. Ball State's lead was short-lived as an offensive onslaught by the Nittany Lions had the score knotted at 14-14 midway through the frame. The score tied once more before two Penn State errors had the Cardinals up by two, 18-16. Ball State maintained at least a one-point edge until back-to-back Cardinal kills had Ball State at set point, 24-20. A kill by sophomore Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and two Ball State errors brought the Nittany Lions within one, 24-23, and forced a Cardinal timeout. A kill from Larry Wrather closed out the set for BSU, 25-23.
Penn State opened set two taking a 5-1 lead. Two kills and a PSU error pulled the Lions within two, 6-4. The Nittany Lions maintained the lead for the entirety of the first half of the frame. Penn State had a 13-10 lead when a 3-0 run by the Cardinals had the score tied at 13-13. The score tied once more before a 3-0 run by the Lions had Penn State with a 17-14 lead. The Cardinals answered back with a 4-0 run to take an 18-17 and force a PSU timeout. Sophomore Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) knotted the score at 18-18, but a PSU error put the Cardinals back in the lead, 19-18. The Cardinals stayed in control for the remainder of the set, allowing the Nittany Lions just three more points before claiming set two, 25-21.
The Cardinals jumped out to an early 4-1 advantage in the third and final frame. Ball State held on to a slim lead for much of the first part of the stanza. However, three straight Cardinal errors and a Sunder ace put Penn State up by one, 12-11. After a Ball State timeout, a Cardinal kill and block put BSU back in the lead, 13-1. The score would tie two more times before a kill from junior Ryan Wolf (York, Pa.) and an ace by redshirt freshman Scott Kegerreis (Honeybrook, Pa.) had Penn State up by two, 16-14. The lead did not last long as a 6-2 run by the Cardinal put Ball State back in control, 20-18. The Nittany Lions fought to tie the set at 21-21, but Ball State ran away with the third frame, 25-22, capitalizing on two PSU errors and pounded two kills.
What's Next?
The Nittany Lions are back in action on Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m. against IPFW. Live stats are available at GoPSUsports.com.
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.