Feb. 10, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The fifth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (7-1, 1-0 EIVA) earned a 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-19) victory against Rutgers-Newark (3-2, 1-1 EIVA). A balanced offense and minimal errors aided the Lions to the win.
Junior Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) came off the bench to lead the Nittany Lions with seven kills on .600 hitting, while freshman Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.), sophomore Peter Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) and redshirt freshman Nick Goodell (Ambridge, Pa.) posted five kills apiece. Redshirt senior Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 17 assists in two sets, while senior Tor Covello (Yardley, Pa.), who relieved Goas for the third set, tallied 10. Redshirt freshman Connor Curry (Newport Beach, Calif.) led the Lions with eight digs and Aaron Russell had a team-high three total blocks.
Penn State had an impressive night offensively hitting .475 as a team with only six hitting errors. The Nittany Lions had 35 kills, five aces, 20 digs and 7.5 team blocks. The Scarlet Raiders finished the night hitting .137 with 29 kills, three aces, 17 digs and 2.0 team blocks.
Penn State jumped out to a 7-3 lead to start the first set and never looked back. Rutgers-Newark closed the gap to four, 10-6, but Penn State three Scarlet Raider errors and four PSU kills had Penn State leading 17-9. The teams traded points with Rutgers-Newark coming now closer than six points, 21-15. After a service error by Rutgers-Newark, Goodell and junior Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) each pounded a kill to put Penn State at set-point, 24-15. Back-to-back kills from Austin Pappas held Penn State momentarily before Peter Russell closed out set one for the Nittany Lions, 25-17.
The Scarlet Raiders opened up set three taking a slim 3-2 lead before a 4-1 Penn State run had the Lions in front, 6-3. Rutgers-Newark fought to within one, 6-5, and stayed within three until a 3-0 Lion run had Penn State leading by five, 14-9. Rutgers-Newark called a timeout and tallied a kill, but the Lions soon had a six-point advantage, 18-12, thanks to a Comfort kill and a Scarlet Raider error. Pappas and junior Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) each pounded a kill for their teams before Penn State secured set one with a 6-1 run for a 25-14 win.
The Nittany Lions tried a whole new lineup in the third stanza starting Covello, junior Kyle Mars (Rochester, N.Y.), Aaron Russell, Hendries, Comfort, redshirt freshman Scott Kegerreis (Honeybrook, Pa.) and Curry. The set was close at the start before a Comfort kill and a Rutgers-Newark attack error moved Penn State ahead by two, 7-5. Penn State maintained a slim two-point lead until a 4-1 run gave the Lions a comfortable five-point advantage, 14-9. The Scarlet Raiders narrowed Penn State's lead to three, 16-13, but four errors by Rutgers-Newark had the Lions leading by five, 20-15. Two consecutive aces and a kill by the Scarlet Raiders had Rutgers-Newark trailing by only two, 20-18. After a Penn State timeout, Two PSU blocks and two kills by Mars had the Lions at match point, 24-18. Rutgers-Newark scored one final point off a Penn State service error before Comfort put down a kill for a 25-19 triumph.
Penn State is back in action tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions continue EIVA play against NJIT.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2012 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.
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