March 29, 2013
PRINCETON, N.J. - The 13th-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (16-6, 10-1 EIVA) remained atop the EIVA standings with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-20) win at Princeton. The Nittany Lions are back in action on Saturday, March 30 at 7 p.m. at George Mason.
Sophomore Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) led Penn State with 18 kills, while redshirt sophomore Nick Goodell (Ambridge, Pa.) posted 13. Redshirt freshman Taylor Hammond (Mission Viejo, Calif.) dished out 48 assists and Russell served three aces. Redshirt sophomore Connor Curry (Newport Beach, Calif.) had a match-high 10 digs and senior Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) put up a team-best seven blocks.
Penn State registered a .265 hitting percentage and totaled 54 kills, five aces, 33 digs and 10.0 total team blocks. Princeton (10-7, 8-3 EIVA) hit .172 with 40 kills, three aces, 29 digs and 12.5 team blocks.
The Tigers wasted no time in the first set and jumped out to a 10-4 lead. After a Nittany Lion timeout, Penn State narrowed the gap to three, 12-9. Kills from Hendries and Seifert eventually pulled the Lions within two, 15-13, but it was the closest Penn State would come to Princeton for the remainder of the set. A kill and a block by Princeton had the Tigers up by four, 17-13. Penn State fought to within two, 2-18, but a kill and a block by Princeton sandwiching a Hendries putdown had the Tigers leading, 22-19. Penn State called a timeout, but it didn't faze the Tigers. Two PSU errors had Princeton at set point, 24-20, before a Princeton putdown closed out set one for the Tigers, 25-20.
After a close start, Princeton pulled ahead by three, 12-9, near the midpoint of the set. Penn State called a timeout, but continued to trail as Princeton's lead great to five, 17-12. A 3-0 PSU run moved PSU within two, 17-15. Princeton used a timeout, but Penn State managed to knot the score at 20-20 after back-to-back kills. The score tied once more before a Russell kill and a block from redshirt freshman Matt Seifert (Reading, Pa.) and senior Kyle Mars (Rochester, N.Y.) gave the Lions a two-point lead, 23-21. Princeton called a second timeout and pounded a kill to move within one, 23-22. However, kills from junior Peter Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) and Goodell secured set two for Penn State, 25-23.
Despite Princeton grabbing an early but slim lead in the third frame, by the middle of the Set Penn State had a three-point lead, 13-10. Penn State's lead grew to four, 16-12, and Princeton called a timeout. The Nittany Lions stayed in control and held on to at least a three-point advantage. With a 20-15 lead, errors began to plague the Tigers. Princeton put down one kill while tallying four errors to move Penn State towards a set three win. Two service errors by the Lions helped the Tigers, but it wasn't enough as Penn State came away with a 25-18 win for a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth and final set was much like the third with Penn State taking a 12-10 lead by the middle of the set. Princeton used a timeout but a 4-1 Penn State run had the Lions ahead by five, 16-11. Princeton called a second timeout, but the Nittany Lions used a 5-1 run to take a 21-13 lead. After two consecutive kills by Princeton, Penn State headed to the bench with a 21-15 lead. Despite another Princeton kill, a Tiger service error and an Aaron Russell ace had Penn State approaching match point, 23-16. Princeton tallied two points to move within five, 23-18, but an error had the Lions at set and match point, 24-18. Princeton managed to score two final points before Goodell closed out the set and match with a kill for a 25-20 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.