April 18, 2014
Final Stats (PDF) I Final Stats
NEWARK, N.J. - The No. 12 Penn State men's volleyball team (21-6, 12-1) took down Rutgers-Newark (9-16, 1-12) in straight sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-16) Friday evening at the Golden Dome Arena to earn their seventh consecutive victory.
Redshirt junior Nick Goodell powered the offense with 14 kills on .524 hitting, adding two aces, two digs and two blocks. Freshman Chris Nugent notched seven kills, tying for second on the team with two blocks. Senior Peter Russell ranked third on the squad with five kills on six perfect swings, while also tallying one ace and one dig.
Redshirt freshman Matt Callaway tied for first on the team with two blocks, adding three kills. Redshirt sophomore Matt Seifert also notched three kills, totaling one ace and one block.
Redshirt sophomore Taylor Hammond led the team with 18 assists, while sophomore Zack Parik followed close behind with 16 assists. As a team, the Nittany Lions out-hit the Scarlet Raiders, .357-.167.
Tied at 9-all early in the first set, Penn State broke open the knotted frame with a 6-1 streak to secure a five-point lead, 15-10. A service error cut off the scoring streak, but a kill from Goodell and a Scarlet Raider error lifted the Nittany Lions ahead by six, 18-12. Rutgers-Newark trimmed the lead to five, 20-15, with a 3-2 spurt, but PSU closed out the first stanza on a 5-3 stretch to capture a 25-16 win.
Penn State shot out to a 10-2 lead in the second set, behind two kills and an ace from Goodell. The Scarlet Raiders answered with three consecutive points to narrow the gap to five, 10-5, but the Nittany Lions responded with a 5-3 stretch to bolster the lead to seven, 15-8. The Scarlet Raiders looked to spark some momentum with a kill, but PSU used another 4-2 strike to construct and eight-point lead, 19-11.
The Scarlet Raiders fired back with a 4-1 streak to shave the lead to five, 20-15. PSU halted the attack with a 3-1 spurt, but Rutgers-Newark came right back with another 4-1 run to arrive within four, 24-20. Nugent pounded a kill to hold off the threat and lock up a 25-20 win to put the Nittany Lions up 2-0.
Trailing by two, 3-1, in set three, the Nittany Lions put together an 8-1 run to secure a five-point advantage, 9-4. Rutgers-Newark cut off the streak with a kill, but PSU powered ahead on a 6-2 run to move ahead by eight, 15-7. Unable to shake Rutgers-Newark for good, the Scarlet Raiders answered with a 4-1 strike to shrink the lead to five, 16-11. Regrouping, Penn State used an 8-2 to arrive at set and match point, 24-13. The Scarlet Raiders held off three consecutive attempts before a service error handed Penn State a 25-16 win to complete the sweep.
Next up, Penn State heads to NJIT to close out the 2014 regular season slate. The Nittany Lions square off against the Highlanders Saturday, April 19 at 3 p.m.