Jan. 22, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 10 Penn State defeated No. 14 Ball State in straight sets, (25-15, 25-18, 25-19) improving their record to 3-2 Friday night in Rec Hall.
Penn State would hit a season high .442 behind Chris Nugent and Matt Callaway who both hit over .600 for the night with Callaway hitting a game-high .778 with seven kills on nine attempts.
Jalen Penrose would add 15 kills while hitting .440 and a service ace to bode.
Spencer Sauter led the defense for the second match this season with eight digs, while finishing third on the team with eight kills.
The Nittany Lions (3-2) would take the first set 25-15, never trailing after an initial 1-1 lead early in the set. Penn State would go on a 10-4 run to take the 11-5 lead before finishing the set on a 14-10 run to close out the set.
The second set would see Ball State battle Penn State point-by-point as the Nittany Lions wouldn't lead by more than three points prior to a 17-17 tie as a Nittany Lion service error knotted the game up late in the set.
Penn State would resume a three-point lead following a kills by Chris Nugent and Matt Callaway followed by a Ball State attack error that prompted a Cardinal timeout.
The run would continue as Penn State would rack up three more points, extending the lead to six, before a Penn State attack error broke up the run giving Ball State their 18th and final point of the set. Penn State would record the 24th and 25th points off Ball State errors.
As they had in the second set, Ball State would keep it close with the Nittany Lions tying Penn State at every point until both teams had combined for 16 points at 8-8. Penn State would go on an 8-4 run capped by a service ace from Chris Nugent that prompted Ball State to call a timeout.
Penn State would continue to pour in the points as a service ace from Jalen Penrose would prompt a second Ball State timeout with the Nittany Lions up 20-15.
The Cardinals would get to within three (21-18) before Penn State rattled off the final four points, with the final two coming on back-to-back service aces from Zach Parik to sweep the Cardinals in straight sets.
Penn State will return to action tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall when they host IPFW for a non-conference match against the Mastodons.
MATCH NOTES:
Team
No. 10 Penn State defeated No. 14 Ball State in three sets, (25-15, 25-18, 25-19) improving their overall record to 3-2.
Tonight's win against the Cardinals marks the Nittany Lions second straight set victory of the season.
Two Nittany Lions recorded double figure kills to secure the win. Redshirt-sophomore Jalen Penrose led the team for the fourth time this season with 15 kills, while junior Chris Nugent had 11.
Penn State out-blocked Ball State 9.0-3.0 with multi-block performances from five different Nittany Lions. Redshirt-senior Matt Seifert lead the team for the second match this season, totaling four blocks.
Penn State out-dug the Cardinals 29 to 15, led by a match-high eight digs from redshirt-junior Spencer Sauter. Four different Nittany Lions had at least six digs in the win.
PSU out-aced Ball State 6-2, thanks to service aces from five different Nittany Lions. Senior Zack Parik led the way with a season-high two aces.
Series
Penn State moves ahead 62-22 in the all-time series against Ball State.
Players
Jalen Penrose, redshirt-sophomore outside hitter
Penrose led the team in kills for the fourth time this season, posting a match-high 14 kills for his third double figure-kill performance of the season.
Chris Nugent, junior outside hitter
Nugent finished second on the team with 11 kills, marking his fifth consecutive match with double figure kills.
Spencer Sauter, redshirt-junior outside hitter
Sauter led the defense for the second match this season with eight digs, while finishing third on the team with eight kills.
Taylor Hammond, redshirt-senior setter
Hammond dished out 39 assists, pacing the team to a .442 hitting percentage, adding six digs.
Matt Callaway, redshirt-junior middle hitter
Callaway tallied seven kills on nine perfect swings for a .778 hitting percentage to go along with three blocks.