LORETTO, Pennsylvania – The Penn State men's volleyball team had to grind through four tough sets for its first EIVA win of the season 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 29-27, 25-22) over Saint Francis Monday afternoon at DeGol Arena.
Penn State improved to 2-2 on the season and 1-0 in EIVA play while the Red Flash fell to 3-2 and 0-1 in conference action
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- Three-straight attacking errors by the Red Flash gave Penn State an early 7-5 lead.
- A kill by Cal Fisher and a service ace from Brett Wildman highlighted another 3-0 spurt that put PSU ahead 17-12.
- Penn State led 24-19 on its first set point, but SFU battled back to win three-straight points before Henrik Falck Lauten put away the set with a kill.
- Set Score: 25-22 Penn State
- Penn State leads 1-0
Second Set
- SFU came out on fire in set two and put together two separate three-point runs to lead 9-5.
- The Nittany Lions scored four of the next five to pull back within one, but the Red Flash quickly responded with a four-point spree to extend its advantage to five.
- Penn State closed the deficit by as much as three at 23-20, but SFU closed the set with a kill and block.
- Set Score: 25-20 Saint Francis
- Match tied 1-1
Third Set
- Penn State got the better of SFU early, leading 5-1 and 8-3 after a combination of kills from Fisher, Jason Donorovich, and Canyon Tuman.
- The Red Flash took its first lead of the set 13-12 after a three-point run and extended its lead to 20-17
- Penn State regained its rhythm after a pair of kills from Brett Wildman plus one from Lee Smith tied the game at 21.
- Both teams had two chances to close the set that were stalled. After a kill from Wildman set up Penn State's third set point, an attacking error by SFU's Michael Fisher gave Penn State its second set.
- Both squads converted their attacks best in the third set, with Penn State hitting .469 (19-4-232) and Saint Francis hitting .412 (20-6-34).
- Set Score 27-25 Penn State
- Penn State leads 2-1
Fourth Set
- Saint Francis scored five-straight points to lead 8-4 early on.
- A kill by Fisher and two clutch service aces by Donorovich pulled Penn State back within one 11-10.
- The Nittany Lions took their first lead of the set on a block assist by Fisher and Tuman 15-14.
- The teams essentially traded points from there to put the score at 23-22 Penn State. Donorovich was involved in back-to-back blocks, the first solo and the other assisted with Smith and Fisher, to clinch the first and only match point for the Nittany Lions.
- Set Score: Penn State 25, Saint Francis 22
- Penn State wins match 3-1
HEAR IT FROM THEM
Head Coach Mark Pavlik
- "Today we grinded out a win where we didn't play as sharply as we would have liked. With the energy and effort expended in the BYU game on Friday and then delaying this game a day, I think we didn't necessarily have the legs in this match. With that said, we found a way to win a conference match on the road with multiple contributors throughout the lineup which is a good thing."
STAT STANDOUTS
- Jason Donorovich led Penn State with 12 kills and hit at a .588 clip (12-2-17). He also had the two crucial services aces and blocks to help close the match in the fourth set.
- Cal Fisher had his second-straight game with double digit kills (10) on 30 swings (.167). He also have five digs and three blocks.
- Canyon Tuman set season-highs with four kills and five blocks.
- Cole Bogner had 40 assists in his first career start at setter.
- SFU's Michael Fisher led all players with 24 kills. He hit .367 (24-7-49).
NEXT UP
Penn State returns to Rec Hall next weekend with a pair of nonconference matches against McKendree and Lindenwood. The McKendree match is set for Friday at 7 p.m. in the main gym while Saturday's Lindenwood match with also be at 7 p.m. but in the South Gym.