UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania – In a back-and-forth battle between two of men's volleyball's most storied programs, the Penn State men's volleyball team came up just short in a five-set thriller against #4 BYU 3-2 (22-25, 27-25, 26-28, 25-19, 15-13) Friday evening at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions (1-2) bounced back after dropping sets one and three by topping the Cougars (3-0) in the second and fourth sets. In the deciding fifth set, Penn State battled back from a three-point deficit to time the game twice before BYU closed the match with two points with the score knotted at 13-13.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- The Nittany Lions stormed out to an early 5-1 after a pair of Henrik Falck Lauten aces to force a BYU timeout.
- The Cougars managed a 6-0 run to take the lead 16-14.
- Penn State did not back down despite BYU taking the lead and clawed its way back to lead with a 3-0 spurt which included a pair of block assists by Jason Donorovich, Falck Lauten, and Luke Braswell.
- With the score tied 22-21 Penn State, BYU mustered four-straight points behind three kills and a Nittany Lion error to take set one.
- End of Set One – BYU 25, Penn State 22: BYU leads 1-0
Second Set
- BYU steadily built an early lead in set two and led 11-7 after a service ace from Felipe de Brito Ferreira.
- The Cougars led by as much as six at 16-10 before Penn State began chipping away at the lead. Cal Fisher went on his own three-point run with a kill and back-to-back service aces to cut BYU's lead to just one 18-17. Donorovich and Fisher followed up shortly after with two-straight points to tie the game at 19-19.
- BYU managed to take a 23-20 and forced a Penn State timeout on the verge of winning the set, but the Nittany Lions scored four-straight to bring about their first set point. PSU eventually won the set on a solo block by Donorovich.
- End of Set Two – Penn State 27, BYU 25: Match tied 1-1
Third Set
- BYU sped out in front with four-point rally to lead 8-4.
- The Cougars managed to not let their lead dip below two until a quick PSU burst capped by a Falck Lauten kill tied the game at 18.
- The teams traded points until Penn State had a 24-23 lead. The Nittany Lions looked to have won the set after a long rally, but a BYU challenge reversed the call on the court to swing the point back in its favor.
- PSU had two more set points that BYU fended off before storming to take the set with three consecutive points, including two kills by Davide Gardini
- End of Set Three – BYU 28, Penn State 26: BYU leads 2-1
Fourth Set
- Penn State got the upper edge early in set four behind a pair of kills from Donorovich and McLaren to take the 7-3 lead.
- The Nittany Lions never trailed in the set after its early 2-1 deficit. BYU tied the score multiple times, but Penn State always responded to retake the lead.
- Fisher, Falck Lauten, and Canyon Tuman teamed up for a big block on Gabi Garcia Fernandez putting Penn State in front 18-15 and caused BYU to call timeout.
- Penn State capped the set with a service ace from Donorovich and a Tuman kill.
- End of Set Four – Penn State 25, BYU 19: Match tied 2-2
Fifth Set
- Neither team led by more than two in the final set as both teams battled back and fourth.
- Penn State led 3-2 and 5-4 courtesy of a kill and ace from Donorovich, but BYU fought back with three points for a 7-5 advantage.
- Penn State tied the score at nine, 11, 12, and 13, but BYU closed the match behind Garcia Fernandez's kill and block assist with de Brito Ferriera.
- End of Set Five – BYU 15, Penn State 13: BYU Wins 3-2
HEAR IT FROM THEM
Head Coach Mark Pavlik
- "I couldn't be more proud of the effort our guys gave. I think we're in a position if we can keep getting better as the year goes on, sharpen up a couple of scoring opportunities, and keep our serving and passing where they were the last three games of that match that we're going to be a tough team to beat…I think Rec Hall is going to be a fun place to watch men's volleyball."
BYU Head Coach Shawn Olmstead
- "It was an exciting match to be a part of. Back and forth all night…Penn State [has] such a big volleyball tradition and to be out here in this environment is a fun place to be. It's given so much to the game with so many great players in the men's and women's programs, so many outstanding coaches. I really enjoyed coming out here."
MIKE ANDERSON MAN OF THE MATCH
R-Jr. Jason Donorovich
- Donorovich was a force in the middle for the Nittany Lions all game, hitting .476 (12-2-21) with team highs in blocks with seven and service aces with three.
- Donorovich set or tied career highs in each of the following categories: kills (12), attacks (21), and aces (3).
GAME NOTES
- BYU now leads the all-time series 13-10. Tonight's win also marked the first game between these two programs at Rec Hall.
- The match featured 39 different tied scores and 16 total lead changes. The third set saw the most tied scores with 13 and five different lead changes.
- BYU's Gabi Garcia Fernandez led all player with 27 kills on 46 tries with eight errors for a .413 hitting percentage.
- Matthew McLaren had a team-high 16 kills to lead the Nittany Lions in finishes for the second-straight game. He also matched his career high with 45 attacks set last season, March 3, at e.
- After starters Calvin Mende and Luke Braswell exited the game with apparent injuries, freshmen Cal Fisher and Cole Bogner each stepped in and performed at high levels. Fisher nearly came up with a double-double with 10 kills on 24 attacks with only one error (.375) while also playing stellar defense with nine digs and five block assists. Bogner stepped in as the primary setter halfway through the second set and match Braswell with 25 assists.
- Henrik Falck Lauten picked up his first double-digit kill game for Penn State with 12 on 25 swings with four errors (.320). He also had five digs, four block assists, and two service aces.
- Libero Will Bantle had nine digs and an assist to his stat line, but he also picked up a rare libero kill in the fourth set.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions begin their EIVA schedule with a road trip to Loretta, Pa. to take on Saint Francis Sunday, Jan. 20. First serve is currently scheduled for 4 p.m.