April 2, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 10th-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (20-5, 10-0) claimed its 27th EIVA/ECVL title since 1976 with a 3-0 (28-26, 25-20, 25-21) victory against George Mason Saturday evening. The Nittany Lions have secured a bye during the EIVA Quarterfinals and will host the EIVA Semifinals and Championship on April 28 & 30 at Rec Hall.
Penn State remained undefeated in conference play with the win and improved their all-time EIVA record to 236-11. The Nittany Lions have won an impressive 96% of their conference matches. This is the 15th time in program history the Nittany Lions finished the EIVA regular season undefeated and the 12th with head coach Mark Pavlik at the helm.
Redshirt junior Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) led all players with 15 kills and sophomore Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) was second on the team with eight. Redshirt junior Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 33 assists and had a team-high five blocks. Freshman Jace Olsen (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) registered three aces and senior Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) recorded 11 digs.
Penn State hit .236 against the Patriots and totaled 40 kills, eight aces, 28 digs and 8.0 total team blocks. George Mason finished the match hitting .195 with 34 kills, two aces, 30 digs and 11.0 team blocks.
The Patriots took a 3-1 lead to open the match, but a 3-0 Penn State run had the Lions ahead by one, 4-3. George Mason tied it up at 4-4, but a Turko kill and joint stuff by Goas and senior Alan Mars (Rochester, N.Y.) gave Penn State a two-point lead, 6-4. The Patriots fought back to tie the score at 6-6 and soon after used a block and a kill to take the lead, 9-8. Sunder pounded a kill to knot the score at 9-9 and a GMU attack error pushed the Lions back into the lead, 10-9. Neither team was able to develop any momentum to take control of the set, as the teams remained neck-in-neck through the middle of the set. With the score at 14-14, a Mars kill and a Sunder ace gave Penn State some breathing room, 16-14. After a Patriot timeout, a 5-0 run had the Patriots leading, 20-17. Penn State called a timeout and capitalized on three GMU errors to tie it up at 21-21. Back-to-back GMU kills had the Patriots up by two, 23-21, but the Nittany Lions did not give up. The lead changed hands three times before an Olsen kill and a Sunder ace secured set one for Penn State, 28-26.
Penn State grabbed the early lead in the second stanza, 5-1. The lead only continued to grow as an ace from Goas moved the Lions ahead by seven, 10-3. The squads traded points before a 4-0 PSU run had Penn State with a nine-point advantage, 16-7. A 3-0 run by the Patriots cut the gap to six, 16-10. A GMU error and a Sunder kill put Penn State ahead by seven, 18-11, but a 3-0 run by the Patriots had George Mason trailed by only four, 18-14. Penn State called a timeout and a Mars kill cut off the George Mason run. The Nittany Lions allowed the Patriots no closer than three for the remainder of the frame. Kills from Olsen, Sunder and redshirt freshman Scott Kegerreis (Honeybrook, Pa.) gave Penn State a 25-20 second set win.
George Mason jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third and final frame. A Turko ace, a GMU error and a Kegerreis kill allowed Penn State to knot the score at 5-5. However, two straight Patriot kills put George Mason in the lead by two, 7-5. Penn State continued to trail for much of the set. Behind by three, 19-16, a 4-0 run put Penn State in the lead, 20-19. The teams remained close until a GMU attack error and a Sunder kill gave Penn State some room to breathe, 23-21. Another George Mason attack error had Penn State at match point before a solo block by Goas ended the set in Penn State's favor, 25-21.
What's Next?
The Nittany Lions host Ohio State on April 10 at 5 p.m. The match will air live on the Big Ten Network. Prior to the match, the squad's two seniors, Alan Mars and Dennis Del Valle, will be honored for their contributions to the Nittany Lion men's volleyball program.
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.