April 30, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 10th-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (24-6) captured its 23rd overall and 13th straight EIVA Championship title with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 26-24) victory against Springfield Saturday evening at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions advance to the NCAA National Semifinals, which will be held at Rec Hall on May 5.
The Nittany Lions now await their NCAA opponent, announced on ESPNews on Sunday, May 1 at 2 p.m. Ohio State defeated Loyola-Chicago in four sets to win the MIVA Championship and advances to the NCAA Semifinals for the fourth straight season. USC is set to face UCSB tonight at 7:30 PT for the MPSF Championship and the winner will also earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Semifinals, along with an at-large team as determined by the NCAA Men's Volleyball Committee.
With the win tonight, Penn State now owns an overall record of 61-3 in the EIVA Championship tournament, with a 23-3 record in the EIVA final dating back to 1986. This will be the 16th NCAA appearance for the Nittany Lions under head coach Mark Pavlik and the 26th overall for the program.
Senior Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He was joined on the all-tournament team by redshirt junior Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.), junior Ryan Wolf (York, Pa.), Springfield's Cal Palumbo and Alberto Bravo, Eric Lucas of George Mason and Jeff Zornig of Rutgers-Newark.
Sunder led the Nittany Lions with 13 kills, while Wolf and sophomore Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) had 11 apiece. Redshirt junior Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 36 assists, while Del Valle had a match-high 14 digs. Sophomore Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) had a team-best four blocks.
The Nittany Lions opened the match taking a 7-1 lead forcing a Springfield timeout. The Pride tallied two straight points before a 6-2 PSU run had Penn State leading 13-5 and Springfield heading back to the bench. The break failed to faze the Nittany Lions as their lead grew to nine, 17-8, after kills from Turko and Wolf. A kill by Springfield's Cal Palumbo sparked a 7-2 run that brought the Pride within four, 19-15. Penn State called a timeout and kills from Sunder, Turko and Comfort had Penn State back up by seven, 23-16. Two kills from Springfield's Alberto Bravo and two PSU errors held Penn State at set-point and had the Pride within four, 24-20. A Springfield service error gave set one to PSU, 25-20.
Penn State came out strong again in the second frame, taking a 5-1 lead, and Springfield burned a timeout early. The Nittany Lions maintained control and had a six-point advantage, 11-5, when Springfield called a second timeout. Penn State's momentum only continued to grow. With an eight-point lead, 18-10, a 3-0 run had Penn State's lead in double-digits, 21-10. The Pride registered two points, but an error prevented Springfield from embarking on a run. Penn State had a 22-13 lead when kills from Comfort and Wolf and a Springfield error secured set two for the Nittany Lions 25-14.
Springfield grabbed the early lead in the third and final stanza, 7-3, and Penn State would trail the Pride for almost the entirety of the set. Penn State called a timeout and fought to within three, 9-6. Springfield continued to control the set with the Nittany Lions coming no closer than two points, 18-16, near the midpoint of the set. A Sunder kill and a Springfield error had the Lions within one, 20-19, and the Pride calling a timeout. Sunder tied it up at 20-20 with a kill and Goas gave the Lions their first lead of the set with a kill. Penn State called a timeout and a block by Goas and sophomore Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) gave Penn State a two-point edge. However, the Pride didn't give up and pounded two kills and had a block to knot the score at 23-23. Penn State used its second timeout, but Jeff Gutmann put down a kill to put the Pride back in front, 24-23. Sunder posted back-to-back kills to move the Lions back into the lead, 25-24, before Wolf closed out the set and the match with a kill, 26-24.
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.