Jan. 16, 2016
Final Stats
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Final | #10 Penn State
| 19 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 15 | 3 | | #9 Lewis | 25 | 26 | 22 | 25 | 13 | 2 |
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| Penn State Statistical Leaders | | - Kills: J. Penrose - 22 - .250 (22-10-48) | | - Blocks: M. Callaway -3.5 | | - Digs: R. Clemens- 12 | | - Aces: Jalen Penrose- 3 |
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| Stat Comparison | PSU | LEWIS | | Kills | 69 | 55 | | Hitting Pct. | .272 | .279 | Assists
| 66 | 48 | | Aces | 5 | 4 | | Digs | 47 | 34 | Blocks
| 12.5 | 12.5 |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 10 Penn State men's volleyball battled No. 9 Lewis in a five-set down to the wire finish pulling out the win 3-2 (19-25, 28-26, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13) Saturday night at the Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, IL.
Jalen Penrose led the Nittany Lions in kills tallying a game-high 22, tied with Chris Nugent who recorded 22 kills of his own while hitting .229 and .250, respectively, for the night. Taylor Hammond would record a season high 61 assist against the Flyers, while Matt Callaway contributed on defense with 3.5 blocks to go along with 12 digs by Royce Clemens.
The Nittany Lions and the Lewis Flyers battled through 31 ties and 9 lead changes over the course of the five-set match.
Following an initial 1-0 deficit to start the match, the Nittany Lions would fight back to even things up at 1-1, playing extra volleyball to get the set win at 28-26, heading into the third set.
Following a tie 1-1 to start the third set, Penn State would play with the lead for the better part of the first half of the set, being up by as much as four at one point, before Lewis tied it up at 10 apiece. The Nittany Lions would take the lead at each point interval with the flyers tying it up at the next point, with ties at the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 20th points.
Penn State would finish the set on a 5-2 run by way of two kills from Matt Callaway, two kills from Spencer Sauter and Chris Nugent and a service by Jalen Penrose, giving the Lions a 2-1 set lead heading into the fourth.
Up two sets to one, the Nittany Lions would trade points with the Flyers for a majority of the set, never being down by more than two points before tying things up at 21-21 on a kill from Chris Nugent. As the Lions did to the Flyers in the second set, Lewis would end the set on an identical 5-2 run knotting things up at two sets with a fifth and determining set to come.
Set five would again see Lewis and Penn State trade points as Lewis would knot it up at 4-4 off a kill by Patrick Lilly assisted by Scott Fifer.
Penn State would begin an 8-2 run that would see them up by five, 12-7, forcing Lewis to take two timeouts during the run. Lewis would then reverse the momentum of the match, going on a 6-1 run of their own getting to within one of Penn State with the score setting at 14-13 in favor of Penn State off a Bobby Walsh kill.
Senior Spencer Sauter would finish the set and match with his 13th and final kill of the game, giving the Nittany Lions their second win of the year, bringing them to .500 at 2-2, and their second win against a ranked opponent this season.
Next up, Penn State returns to University Park, Pa. for a match up against Ball State on Jan. 22 followed by a match against IPFW (Jan. 23) with both games having a first whistle set for 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.
Penn State men's volleyball is on Facebook and Twitter! Fans can follow the Nittany Lions @PennStateMVBALL or online at www.facebook.com/PennStateMensVolleyball.
