March 1, 2013
NEWARK, N.J. - The ninth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (13-3, 7-1 EIVA) defeated conference foe Rutgers-Newark, 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-19). The Nittany Lions are back in action on Saturday, March 2 at NJIT. Action is set for 8 p.m.
Redshirt sophomore Nick Goodell (Ambridge, Pa.) led the Lions with nine kills, while redshirt freshman Matt Seifert (Reading, Pa.) posted eight. Sophomore Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) and redshirt junior Scott Kegerreis (Honeybrook, Pa.) added seven kills each. Redshirt freshman Taylor Hammond (Mission Viejo, Calif.) dished out 25 assists and freshman Zack Parik (Woodridge, Ill.) added 10. Junior Peter Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) led Penn State in digs with seven, while Seifert put up a team-best four blocks.
Penn State recorded a .405 hitting percentage against the Scarlet Raiders (2-7, 0-5 EIVA). The Lions totaled 42 kills, six aces, 27 digs and 6.5 total team blocks. Rutgers-Newark closed out the match hitting .097 and had 24 kills, one ace, 23 digs and 3.0 team blocks.
After a close start, two kills by Peter Russell and a PSU block had Penn State up by four, 10-6. The Scarlet Raiders came within three twice before a 4-0 run by PSU had the Lions leading by seven, 16-9. A Lion service error gave the ball to Rutgers-Newark, but a 5-1 Penn State run had the Lions up by 10, 22-21. Aaron Russell contributed two kills during the run. Despite one final kill by the Scarlet Raiders, putdowns by Goodell and Peter Russell and a RN error secured set one for PSU, 25-13.
The second set began much like the first with Penn State pulling away early, 9-6. After a Rutgers-Newark kill, kills from Seifert and Goodell increased Penn State's advantage to four, 12-8. After a PSU service error, back-to-back Goodell kills put Penn State up by five, 14-9. Penn State maintained at least a four-point lead through much of the middle of the set until two straight RN errors and an ace from Parik had the Lions in the lead by six, 19-13. Rutgers-Newark called a timeout to slow Penn State. The Scarlet Raiders took off on a 5-1 run to narrow the gap to two, 20-18. The Nittany Lions headed to the bench and with the help of two Seifert kills the Lions moved ahead by five, 23-18. The Scarlet Raiders managed two final points before a Kegerreis putdown and a Rutgers-Newark closed out set two in favor of the Lions, 25-20.
Penn State grabbed a 4-1 lead in the third stanza. The Nittany Lion lead grew to five, 11-6, but a 4-1 Rutgers-Newark run had the Scarlet Raiders within two, 12-10. However, Penn State was unfazed and a kill from senior Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) sparked a 6-1 Nittany Lions run for a convincing 19-11 lead. The run came to an end with three Nittany Lions errors moving Rutgers-Newark within six, 20-14. Seifert pounded a kill to prevent a Scarlet Raider run, but three more errors by the Lions had Rutgers-Newark closing in, 21-17. Kegerreis fought back with a kill and a Rutgers-Newark service error had Penn State two points from winning the set and the match, 23-18. Even with one final PSU error, a Goodell kill and a joint stuff from Seifert and senior Kyle Mars (Rochester, N.Y.) gave Penn State a 25-19 set three victory.
For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State men's volleyball 2013 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.