April 14, 2012
PROVO, Utah - The seventh-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (20-4) fell to fourth-ranked BYU (22-6), 3-1 (25-20, 26-24, 18-25, 18-25), Friday night. The Nittany Lions face the Cougars a second time on Saturday, March 14 at 9 p.m. ET.
Junior Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) led the Lions with 16 kills, while freshman Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) posted nine and redshirt senior Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) tallied eight. Redshirt senior Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 35 assists and tied for first on the team with Sunder with seven digs each. Russell led the team with three total blocks.
Penn State hit .216 against BYU and totaled 43 kills, six aces, 26 digs and 5.5 team blocks. The Cougars registered a .323 attack percentage and had 49 kills, five aces, 30 digs and 10.5 team blocks.
The Cougars took a 3-1 lead to start set one, but the teams were neck-and neck for much of the frame. It wasn't until a late 3-0 run by Penn State that the Lions grabbed a comfortable lead of 20-17. After a BYU timeout, Penn State maintained at least a two-point edge until a BYU service error and a Sunder kill secured set one for PSU, 25-20.
Penn State jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second frame before BYU used a 7-1 run to knot the score at 7-7. The score tied four more times before a 3-0 run by the Cougars had BYU with a 13-11 advantage. Penn State called a timeout and continued to trail but remained within three points of the Cougars. Thanks to kills from Sunder and Comfort and a BYU error, the Lions tied it up late in the set at 23-23. A service error had Penn State calling a timeout with BYU at set point, 24-23. A BYU error made it 24 all before a kill from Taylor Sander and a PSU attack error gave the Cougars a 26-24 victory.
Despite a close start, BYU used a 5-1 run to take a 14-9 lead midway through set three. BYU managed to keep Penn State trailing by at least four points until a kill from junior Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) and a BYU error had the Lions within three, 19-16. BYU called a timeout and used a 3-1 for a 22-17 lead. Penn State called a timeout, but it failed to faze Brigham Young. Two Cougar kills and a block earned BYU a 25-18 third set win.
The fourth stanza was much like the first with neither team able to develop a strong lead early. Thanks to back-to-back kills from sophomore Jace Olsen (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Penn State was ahead by two, 12-10, and BYU called a timeout. Five Penn State errors turned the tables, however, and BYU moved into the lead, 16-14. Penn State called a timeout, but was unable to recover as the Cougars moved ahead by give, 21-16. Penn State used its second timeout, but managed to only tally two additional kills before BYU closed out the set, 25-18.
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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