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April 18, 2015
NEWARK, N.J. - Behind double figure kills from a trio of Nittany Lions, No. 7 Penn State (17-9, 11-0) swept past NJIT (11-12, 3-8) in three sets (30-28, 25-21, 25-21) on the road Saturday afternoon. The win stretches the PSU winning streak to 13 straight, including an undefeated record in EIVA conference play.
Senior Aaron Russell led the team with 17 kills on .464 hitting, adding seven digs. Redshirt senior Nick Goodell finished second with 13 kills and eight digs, while sophomore Chris Nugent rounded out the group with 10 kills on .389 hitting.
Redshirt junior Matt Seifert tallied five kills on five errorless swings, while also posting two digs and one ace.
Redshirt senior Connor Curry anchored the defense with 11 digs. Redshirt sophomore Matt Callaway registered a team-high two blocks.
Penn State opened the match on a slow start, trailing for most of the opening portion of the first set. Down by two, 10-8, Russell sparked a 4-3 streak that pulled Penn State on top by one, 12-11. The Highlanders answered with a 3-1 spurt to take back the advantage, 14-13. Back-to-back Penn State blocks lifted the Nittany Lions back up by one, 15-14.
NJIT looked to slow the momentum with a kill, 15-15, but Penn State responded with a 4-1 run to widen the lead to three, 19-16. The Highlanders came out of the break swinging, tallying three unanswered points to knot the score, 19-19, causing PSU to call a timeout.
Penn State regrouped with a 5-3 stretch powered by a kill and an ace from Nugent to surge to set point, 24-22. NJIT came storming back with a 3-0 streak to keep the score tied, 24-24, before serving up an ace to make it set point, 25-24. An NJIT service error held off the attempt, but the two teams traded points six more times to keep the score deadlocked.
Tied at 28-28, an NJIT service error gave the Nittany Lions a one-point edge before Seifert followed with a service ace to secure a 30-28 victory in favor of Penn State.
Penn State and NJIT opened the second set battling point-for-point. Trailing by two, 7-5, Goodell opened up a 7-1 streak with a kill to vault the Nittany Lions ahead by as many as four, 12-8. The Highlanders cut off the run with a kill, 12-9, but PSU responded with a 3-1 strike to keep the advantage as high as five point, 15-10.
The Highlanders answered back with a 3-1 strike to trim the PSU lead back to three, 16-13, but Penn State pulled back up by as many as six, 23-17. NJIT looked to get back on track with a pair of kills, 23-19, but a kill from Goodell made it set point, 24-19. The Highlanders held off two consecutive attempts to climb within three, 24-21, but an NJIT service error closed out a 25-21 for Penn State.
Trailing by one early in set three, 8-7, Penn State used a 5-1 streak to jump ahead by three, 12-9, causing NJIT to call a timeout. The Nittany Lions kept the momentum rolling out of the break, using a 4-3 stretch, capped off by two consecutive kills from Nugent to make it 16-12. The Highlanders followed with a 4-2 run to pull within two, 18-16.
Penn Stat halted the run, using a 9-3 streak, capped off by back-to-back kills from Nugent to make it 23-19, prompting NJIT to call a timeout. A PSU attack error out of the break brought the Highlanders within three, 23-20, but a kill from Goodell made it match point, 24-20. NJIT made one final attempt to mount a comeback with a kill, 24-21, but another kill from Goodell locked up a 25-21 win in the third set to complete the sweep.
Penn State remains on the road, traveling to in-state EIVA foe Saint Francis to close out the 2015 regular season. First serve between the Nittany Lions and the Red Flash is set for 4 p.m. in Loretto, Pa.