MVB Drops First Match Of AVCA Showcase To Top-Ranked Long Beach St.MVB Drops First Match Of AVCA Showcase To Top-Ranked Long Beach St.
Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

MVB Drops First Match Of AVCA Showcase To Top-Ranked Long Beach St.

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LONG BEACH, California – The Penn State men's volleyball team stumbled in its first of two games at the American Volleyball Coaches Association Showcase in a straight-sets loss to top-ranked Long Beach State Friday night.
 
Penn State dips to 4-5 overall while Long Beach continues its undefeated season at 11-0.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set

  • Long Beach took control early in the first set with a five-point run to lead 9-2.
  • Cole Bogner picked up a kill and an ace while Henrik Falck Lauten also had a pair of kills to bring Penn State back within five at 14-9.
  • Long Beach scored six of the last seven points in the set to take the first stanza.
  • The Nittany Lions struggled on the attack with a .042 hitting percentage (6-5-24) while Long Beach hit .684 (14-1-19).
  • Set Score: Long Beach 25, Penn State 13
  • Match Score: Long Beach 1, Penn State 0

 
Second Set

  • Penn State scored three of four points including kills from Cal Fisher and Matthew McLaren to take an 8-7 lead in set two.
  • Long Beach proceeded to rally off four-straight points before McLaren ended the run to make it 11-9.
  • The Nittany Lions brought the score back to within one at 19-18 on a kill by Falck Lauten.
  • Falck Lauten and Canyon Tuman teamed up for a block and Penn State trailed 23-21, but Long Beach scored the final two points to close the set.
  • Set Score: Long Beach 25, Penn State 21
  • Match Score: Long Beach 2, Penn State 0

 
Set Three

  • Another quick start to the third set put Long Beach in front 7-2 and eventually led to a Penn State timeout at 11-4.
  • Long Beach continued to build its lead before another halt in play at 20-9.
  • The Nittany Lions took five of seven points behind back-to-back kills from Brett Wildman, but two errors by PSU gave Long Beach the final points to clinch the third set and the match.
  • Set Score: Long Beach 25, Penn State 15
  • Match Score: Long Beach Wins 3-0

 
GAME NOTES

  • Penn State struggled with errors throughout the match with 18 over three sets against just 29 kills. Penn State hit .136 (29-18-81) for the match.
  • Long Beach hit .514 as a team for the match (42-5-72).
  • Falck Lauten was the lone Nittany Lion in double-figure kills with 10 on 28 attacks.
  • Fisher ended up hitting .545 with six kills and zero errors for Penn State.
  • Bogner had the Nittany Lions' lone service ace of the night to go with 24 assists and two kills.

 
NEXT UP

  • Penn State faces another ranked opponent in No. 6 UC Santa Barbara tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET.