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Jan. 24, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Despite double-figure kill performances from a trio of Nittany Lions, No. 15 Penn State (0-6) came up short in a 3-1 (18-25, 25-18, 22-25, 20-25) loss to No. 2 Lewis (6-1) Saturday evening at Rec Hall.
Senior Aaron Russell led the team with a match-high 23 kills for his third 20-plus kill outing of the season. Russell also tied for first on the team with nine digs and a squad-best three aces, to earn Mike Anderson Penn State Player of the Match honors.
Redshirt senior Nick Goodell finished second on the team with 17 kills, adding eight digs. Redshirt sophomore Matt Callaway rounded out the group with 11 kills on .562 hitting.
Redshirt junior Taylor Hammond dished out 52 assists, while also pacing the team to a season-high .303 hitting clip. Hammond added seven digs, three kills and one block.
Trailing by two early in set one, 10-8, Goodell and Hammond put down back-to-back kills to tie the frame, 10-10. Lewis responded with four consecutive kills to pull ahead, 14-10, prompting Penn State to call a timeout. Goodell came out of the break with a kill, 14-11, but the Flyers followed with a pair of kills to widen the margin to five, 16-11.
Russell looked to spark some momentum with two consecutive kills, 16-13, but two kills and a block from Lewis sent the Flyers ahead, 19-13, prompting a Penn State timeout. The Flyers came out of the break with an ace, but Russell responded with a kill to make it 20-14. With Penn State unable to sustain the moment, Lewis used a 4-3 stretch to arrive at set point, 24-17. The Nittany Lions held off two attempts before a service error gave the Flyers a 25-18 victory in the first set.
Leading by only one, 6-5, Russell and Goodell opened a 5-1 run with a pair of kills to lift the Nittany Lions ahead by as many as five, 11-6, causing the Flyers to call a timeout. Lewis came out of the break with a kill, 11-7, but PSU responded with a 6-3 stretch to extend the advantage to seven, 17-10. Lewis broke up the momentum with two consecutive kills, 17-12, but Penn State followed with a 4-2 strike to go up by seven, 21-14.
The Flyers attempted to get back on track with a kill, 21-15, but PSU used a 3-1 spurt powered by three kills from Russell to arrive at set point, 24-16. Lewis held off two attempts before an error gave the Nittany Lions a 25-18 win in set two to tie the match, 1-1.
Down by one in set three, 4-3, Penn State tallied four unanswered points featuring two aces from Russell to move ahead, 7-4. A service error broke up the streak, 7-5, but PSU pushed forward with a 4-3 strike to remain on top, 11-8. The Flyers continued to chip away at the Penn State lead, using an 8-6 stretch to tie the score, 16-16.
Penn State and Lewis continued to keep it close, tying the score three more times. With the score locked up at 19-all, Lewis put down two kills and a block to move up by two, 21-19, forcing the Nittany Lions to call a timeout. A Flyer service error out of the break made it 21-20, but Lewis scored the next three straight for set point, 24-20. Russell and Hammond held off two attempts with a pair of kills, to bring Penn State within two, 24-22, but a Lewis kill gave the Flyers a 25-22 win in the third set for a 2-1 lead in the match.
After trailing for most of the fourth set, 14-9, Russell sparked a 4-2 run with four kills to trim the deficit to three, 16-13. Lewis followed with a 5-3 streak to jump ahead by five, 21-16, causing Penn State to use its final timeout of the match. Goodell came out of the break with a kill to break up the run, 21-17, but the Flyers responded with a 4-1 strike to arrive at match point, 24-19. Russell held off the attempt with a kill, 24-20, but Lewis put down another kill for a 25-20 win in set four to take the match, 3-1.
Penn State remains home next weekend, hosting a pair of matches in main gym at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions open the weekend hosting Mount Olive Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. before welcoming Saint Francis to the court Saturday, Jan 31 at 8 p.m. in the 2015 EIVA conference opener.