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April 17, 2015
PRINCETON, N.J. - No. 7 Penn State men's volleyball (16-9, 10-0) rallied from an early deficit to top Princeton (10-11, 5-5) in four sets (25-27, 25-19, 25-21, 25-15) on the road Friday evening. The victory stretches the Nittany Lion winning streak to 12 consecutive victories.
Senior Aaron Russell led the offense with 14 kills, adding four aces, three blocks and three digs. Redshirt senior Nick Goodell finished second on the team with eight kills, while redshirt freshman Jalen Penrose notched seven kills on .500 hitting.
Redshirt senior Connor Curry led the defensive effort with 10 digs. Sophomore Chris Nugent finished close behind with nine digs, while also contributing six kills and two aces.
Redshirt sophomore Matt Callaway posted a match-high seven blocks, including one solo stuff.
The Nittany Lions opened the first set on an 8-5 run to build an early three-point cushion. Princeton came battling back with a 5-1 streak to tie the score, 9-9. Penn State answered with a 5-2 run featuring a pair of aces from Russell to pull ahead by three points, 14-11.
A PSU attack error brought the Tigers within two, 14-12, but the Nittany Lions responded with a 6-4 stretch to build the advantage to as many as four, 20-16. A Penn State service error slowed the momentum, 20-17, but PSU could not settle into a rhythm as Princeton used a 5-2 strike to knot the score, 22-22. Russell looked to lift the Nittany Lions ahead with a kill, 23-22, but the two teams continued to trade points.
Tied at 24-24, a PSU attack error made it set point for Princeton, but Goodell fought off the attempt with a kill to make it 25-25. Unable to get back on track, a PSU service error and a Princeton kill handed the Tigers a 27-25 win in the first set.
Penn State shot out to a 12-5 lead in the second set, prompting Princeton to call a timeout. The Nittany Lions continued to roll out of the break, using a 4-2 strike to go up 16-7. Three straight PSU errors trimmed the margin to six, 16-10, causing the Nittany Lions to call a timeout.
PSU quickly regrouped, with a 6-2 run to bolster the lead to as many as eight, 22-14. The Tigers looked to mount a comeback with a kill and a block, 22-16, but Penn State battled point-for-point for a 25-19 win in the second set to tie the match, 1-1.
Trailing by two in set three, 9-7, Goodell sparked a 3-2 stretch with a kill to bring Penn State within one, 11-10. Princeton cut off the run with a kill, 12-10, but Penn State regrouped with a 4-3 stretch to remain within one, 15-14. The Tigers followed with a block and a kill to make it 17-14, forcing PSU to call a timeout.
Rallying, Penn State continued to fight, using a 5-4 scoring streak to pull ahead by one, 19-18. A Nittany Lion service error tied the frame, 19-19, but the Nittany Lions put together a 4-1 strike to arrive at set point, 24-20. Another PSU service error held off the attempt, but a Princeton service error closed out a 25-21 win in the third set to put Penn State up 2-1.
Tied at 4-4 in the fourth stanza, Russell sparked a 3-0 featuring a kill and a block by Russell to bring the Nittany Lions ahead, 7-4. Princeton cut off the streak with a block, but Callaway and Russell followed with another block to open up an 8-5 stretch the vaulted the Nittany Lions ahead, 16-10. The Tigers halted the momentum with a kill, 16-11, but PSU answered with an 8-3 run to make it match point, 24-14. Princeton thwarted just one attempt before Penrose pounded a kill to put away a 25-15 win in the fourth set to secure a 3-1 victory.
Next up, Penn State heads to NJIT to close out the weekend with a mid-afternoon matchup. First serve between the Nittany Lions and the Highlanders is set for 3 p.m.