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Jan. 30, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Behind a career-high effort from sophomore Chris Nugent, Penn State men's volleyball (1-6) powered past Mount Olive (3-3) in straight sets (25-18, 25-11, 25-10) Friday evening at Rec Hall.
Nugent led the way with a match-high 16 kills on .500 hitting, adding three aces, five digs and two blocks to earn Mike Anderson Penn State Player of the Match honors.
Redshirt senior Nick Goodell also recorded double figure kills, finishing second on the squad with 13 kills on 22 errorless swings. He also added six digs, two blocks an ace.
Senior Aaron Russell finished third on the team with eight kills, while also tallying two aces, eight digs and two blocks, including one solo stuff.
Redshirt junior Taylor Hammond paced the team to a season-high .425 hitting percentage, dishing out 36 assists to go along with a team-high nine digs. As a team, the Nittany Lions outhit Mount Olive .425-.053.
Tied up early in set one, 7-7, Nugent sparked a 4-0 streak that lifted the Nittany Lions ahead by four, 11-7, prompting Mount Olive to call a timeout. The Trojans came out of the break with a 3-1 spurt to narrow the margin to two, 12-10, but Penn State responded with an 8-3 stretch to surge ahead by as many as six, 19-13.
A PSU attack error temporarily interrupted the momentum, but Penn State regrouped with a 6-5 run down the stretch to secure a 25-18 win in the opening frame.
Penn State jumped out a 9-2 lead in set two to take control of an early advantage. The Trojans looked to get back on track with a 3-2 strike to trim the deficit to six, 11-5, but the Nittany Lions continued to roll, using an 81- run to push the advantage into double digits, 18-6.
Mount Olive looked to halt the momentum with a block, 18-7, but one kill from Callaway and two from Nugent opened up a 5-1 run that extended the lead to 15, 23-8. A Penn State service error and a Trojan kill cut off the streak, 23-10, but a Mount Olive service error made it set point, 24-10. UMO held off just one attempt before Goodell put away a kill to seal a 25-11 win in the second set, giving the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead in the match.
With a slim one-point lead in set three, 4-3, Nugent opened up a 9-1 run with back-to-back kills, vaulting Penn State ahead by nine, 13-4, forcing the Trojans to use their last timeout of the match. Mount Olive looked to mount one final comeback with a kill, 13-5, but Penn State used a 4-2 stretch to push the lead into double digits, 17-7. From there, the Nittany Lions did not let the advantage dip below 10, cruising to a 25-10 win in the third set to complete the sweep.
Penn State returns to action tomorrow night, hosting Saint Francis in the 2015 EIVA conference opener. First serve between the Nittany Lions and the Red Flash is set for 8 p.m. in main gym. Penn State will also host its EIVA Rallies night to help raise awareness for the league's "EIVA Rallies" campaign. Both head coaches will wear a fedora in support of the cause. The annual campaign benefits the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Along with the fedoras, PSU will host a silent auction during Saturday's match on the west mezzanine level in the main gym at Rec Hall featuring special game-worn EIVA Rallies warm-ups. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is one of the largest and oldest private cancer centers. Throughout its history, the center has dedicated more than 100 years to patient care and innovative research.