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Feb. 21, 2015
CHICAGO - Penn State men's volleyball (4-9, 2-0 EIVA) could not complete a late comeback as No. 1 Loyola (11-0, 3-0 MIVA) knocked off the Nittany Lions in four sets (16-15, 19-25, 25-20, 19-25) Saturday evening on the road at Gentile Arena.
Senior Aaron Russell led the offense with 12 kills, while also adding a squad-best six digs, three aces and one solo block. Redshirt freshman Jalen Penrose recorded his first career double digit kill performance, logging a career-high 10 kills to go along with three digs and a block.
Redshirt sophomore Matt Callaway and redshirt freshman Aidan Albrecht finished with five kills apiece. Callaway also registered a team-high three blocks, including one solo stuff.
Redshirt senior Connor Curry and redshirt sophomore Spencer Sauter finished tied for second on the team with five digs each.
Tied at 7-7 in set one, a pair of PSU attack errors and a kill from Loyola pulled the Ramblers ahead, 10-7, forcing Penn State to call a timeout. The Nittany Lions could not regroup out of the break as Loyola used another 4-0 strike to take over a seven-point lead, 14-7, prompting PSU to use its final timeout of the frame.
A Loyola service error broke up the momentum, but the Ramblers matched the Nittany Lions point-for-point to remain ahead by six, 17-11. Regrouping, Goodell and Russell put down back-to-back kills to pull Penn State within five, 17-12, but Loyola answered with a 7-4 streak to arrive at set point, 24-16. The Nittany Lions couldn't get back on track as another Rambler block gave Loyola a 25-16 win in set one.
Knotted once again at 7-7 in set two, the Ramblers opened up a 7-1 run to build a five-point lead, causing PSU to call timeout. Callaway came out of the timeout with a kill, 11-8, but Loyola came charging back with a 7-2 streak to extend the lead to as many as eight, 18-10.
Albrecht and Russell looked to build some momentum with back-to-back kills to make it 18-12, but the Ramblers responded with a 6-4 stretch to arrive at set point, 24-16. Rallying, a Loyola error, an ace from junior Zack Parik and a solo stuff from Russell trimmed the deficit to five, 24-19, causing the Ramblers to call a timeout. PSU was unable to complete the comeback as a Loyola kill out of the break handed the Ramblers a 25-19 win in the second set to send the Nittany Lions into the intermission trailing 2-0 in the match.
Trailing by three in set three, 10-7, Penn State used a 4-0 streak capped off by two consecutive aces from Russell to pull ahead by one, 11-10, prompting Loyola to call a timeout. Russell came out of the break and fired another ace, 12-10, but the Ramblers halted the stretch with a kill to keep within one, 12-11.
Penn State regrouped with a 4-2 stretch capped off by a pair of kills from Sauter and Penrose to move ahead by three, 16-13, causing the Ramblers to use their final timeout of the stanza. Despite a PSU attack error out of the break, the Nittany Lions took advantage of a 5-2 run finished off by two kills from Penrose to pull ahead 21-16. Loyola followed with a kill and two blocks to shave the lead back to two, 21-19, forcing PSU to call a timeout.
The Nittany Lions came out of the break with a 4-1 strike capped off by two consecutive kills from Russell to secure set three, 25-20.
PSU shot out to an 8-5 lead in set four, prompting the Ramblers to call an early timeout. A Loyola kill and a Penn State attack error brought the Ramblers within one, 8-7, but the Nittany Lions answered with four straight to widen the margin to five, 12-7. Loyola came battling back with a 7-2 streak to tie score, 14-14, causing PSU to take a timeout. Callaway cut off the run with a kill, 15-14, but Loyola answered with a 7-1 run to extend the lead to five, 21-16.
A service error gave the Nittany Lions a chance to get back on track, 21-17, but Loyola followed with a 4-2 stretch win set four 25-19 and take the match, 3-1.
Next up, Penn State continues its seven-match road swing. In week two of the road trip, the Nittany Lions travel to Sacred Heart Friday, Feb. 27 for a 7 p.m. match, before heading to Harvard to take on the Crimson Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.