Feb. 18, 2012
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The fifth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (10-1, 4-0 EIVA) earned a 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-15) victory at Sacred Heart (4-0, 1-4 EIVA) Saturday night. Penn State is now 3-0 all-time against the Pioneers.
Redshirt senior Joe Sunder (Greesnburg, Pa.) led Penn State with nine kills, while redshirt freshman Nick Goodell (Ambridge, Pa.) tallied eight on .429 hitting. Sophomore Peter Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) was third on the team with six kills. Redshirt senior Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) pace d the offense with 30 assists. Two Nittany Lions posted double-digit digs with redshirt freshman Connor Curry (Newport Beach, Calif.) leading the Lions with 13 and Sunder recording 10. Freshman Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) had a team-best four blocks.
Penn State registered a .289 hitting percentage and held Sacred Heart to .060. The Lions totaled 36 kills, three aces, 42 digs and 7.5 total team blocks. The Pioneers finished the match with 25 kills, one ace, 26 digs and 5.5 team blocks.
The Nittany Lions opened the match with a 6-3 lead thanks to three SHU errors and kills from Sunder, Peter Russell and Aaron Russell. The Pioneers came within two, 7-5, before a 7-2 PSU run had the Nittany Lions leading by seven, 14-7. Sacred Heart called a timeout and tallied the next two points to close the gap to five, 14-9. However, a Sunder kill and two Pioneer errors moved Penn State back ahead by seven, 17-10. The teams traded points for much of the remainder of the set until a 5-2 Lion run had Penn State at set point, 24-15. Penn State closed out the set with a joint stuff by Aaron Russell and junior Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) for a 25-15 first set win.
The Pioneers took control from the start in the second frame and had a 12-10 lead nearing the halfway mark of the set. Two straight errors by Sacred Heart had the score knotted at 12-12, but two additional kills by the Pioneers put SHU back in front, 14-12. Penn State called a timeout and capitalized on three straight Pioneer errors to tie it up at 15-15. The score tied once more before a Sacred Heart error and a Goodell moved Penn State into the lead, 17-16. A kill by SHU's Nick Hunt had the score at 17 all. An attack error by the Pioneers and a Sunder kill moved Penn State into the lead for good, 19-18. A block by Peter and Aaron Russell gave Penn State a two-point cushion, 20-18, and the Lions never looked back. Two PSU kills and two Pioneer errors had Penn State at set point, 24-20, and Sunder secured set two for the Lions with a kill, 25-20.
PSU jumped out to an 11-4 lead thanks in part to a 6-0 run. A SHU block slowed Penn State momentarily, but the Lions kept pushing using a 4-1 run to develop a nine-point advantage, 15-6. Sacred Heart called a timeout, but failed to slow the Lions as another 4-1 run moved Penn State's lead into double-digits, 19-8. A PSU service error and an ace by Pioneer Jason Kinney narrowed PSU's lead to nine. However, an SHU error and a Goas ace moved Penn State back ahead by 11, 21-10. The Pioneers managed a 4-1 run of their own to make it 22-14. Sacred Heart managed one final point off a kill from Mackenzie Enzo before the Nittany Lions ran away with the win, 25-15.
The Nittany Lions return home on Feb. 24-25 to host Princeton and George Mason at Rec Hall to continue EIVA play. The Lions take on the Tigers at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24 before challenging George Mason at 5 p.m. on Feb. 25. Penn State remains at home on March 3 to host Ohio State at 7 p.m.
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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