April 14, 2012
PROVO, Utah - The seventh-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (23-25, 22-25, 17-25) setback to fourth-ranked BYU (23-6). The Nittany Lions return home on April 21 to host Saint Francis at Rec Hall in their final regular season match.
Freshman Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) and junior Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) led Penn State (20-5) with nine kills apiece. Redshirt senior Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) paced the offense with 28 assists and led the team with seven digs and two blocks. Comfort was second on the team with six digs.
Penn State hit .260 and finished the match with 36 kills, three aces, 23 digs and 3.0 team blocks. BYU recorded a .506 hitting percentage with 49 kills, three aces, 21 digs and 7.0 team blocks.
The Cougars took an early but slim lead until a 5-1 Nittany Lion run had Penn State leading by three, 14-11. Penn State maintained control for much of the set until a 4-1 BYU run had the Cougars within one, 21-20. After a Penn State timeout, a kill and a block by BYU's Quentin Smith had the score knotted at 22-22. A service error by each team made it 23 all, but a Penn State attack error push BYU into the lead. Penn State used its second timeout, but a big BYU block secured set one for the Cougars, 25-23.
Neither team broke away early on in set two, but midway through the frame it was BYU with a 12-11 edge. Penn State called a timeout, but BYU's lead grew to three, 16-13. Two consecutive Cougar errors moved the Lions within one, 16-15, and forced BYU to take a timeout. Kills from Russell and Comfort tied it up at 17-17. The teams stayed neck-and-neck briefly before two straight BYU kills had the Cougars with a two-point lead, 20-18. A second PSU timeout slowed the Cougars enough to let Penn State come within one on two occasions. However, BYU's offense recorded three straight kills and was aided by a Nittany Lion error to take set two, 25-22.
It wasn't until more than halfway through the third stanza that BYU developed the momentum to take a 17-14 lead. Despite a Nittany Lion timeout, a 4-0 run by the Cougars increased the gap to six, 20-14. A service error by BYU turned the ball over to Penn State, but Penn State was unable to capitalize and Futi Tavana pounded a kill for the Cougars. Russell tallied a kill for PSU to make it 22-16, but a service error by the Nittany Lions had the Cougars within two of taking the set and the match, 23-16. Penn State's final point came on a Brigham Young service error before a Smith kill and a PSU error ended the set in BYU's favor, 25-17.
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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