Men's Volleyball Drops First Match of Weekend To #13 Mastodons, 3-1Men's Volleyball Drops First Match of Weekend To #13 Mastodons, 3-1
Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

Men's Volleyball Drops First Match of Weekend To #13 Mastodons, 3-1

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FORT WAYNE, Indiana – The Penn State men's volleyball team found itself in a nonconference battle Friday evening at Purdue Fort Wayne but was unable to come up with the points it needed in a close fourth set to drop a 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 20-25, 23-25) decision to the Mastodons on the road.
 
Penn State (8-11) sees its losing skid extend to three games. The #13 Mastodons improved to (12-7).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set

  • Purdue Fort Wayne sped out to a 6-1 lead before Henrik Falck Lauten picked up his second kill to put the run to a halt for Penn State.
  • Penn State was able to close the gap to about five points but the Mastodons didn't let the Nittany Lions get any closer in the middle of the set.
  • Penn State mounted a comeback down 18-13 with three points in the row after Matthew McLaren picked up a kill and a block with Jason Donorovich.
  • Falck Lauten ended up tying the score 21-21 with a kill, but PFW rattled off four in a row and took set one.
  • Set Score: Purdue Fort Wayne 25-21
  • Match Score: Purdue Fort Wayne leads 1-0

 
Second Set

  • Both teams traded three-point rallies in the second set before going sideout for sideout to bring the score to an 11-11 tie.
  • After a Donorovich kill gave Penn State its 12th point of the set, the Nittany Lions benefitted from three-straight Mastodon errors to lead 15-12.
  • Luke Braswell picked up a service ace to give Penn State a 20-16 lead and Penn State rode a scoring wave to the end of the set.
  • Calvin Mende and Falck Lauten scored twice and teamed up with Canyon Tuman for block before McLaren finished the set with a kill.
  • Set Score: Penn State 25-18
  • Match Score: Match Tied 1-1

 
Third Set

  • Purdue Fort Wayne took the initial lead in the set and ended up not giving it up for the remainder of the frame.
  • Donorovich and Braswell picked up a block to pull Penn State within one at 10-9 and Falck Lauten had a kill to make it 11-10, but that would be the closest the Nittany Lions would get.
  • The Mastodons ran off six of the next seven points capped by a service ace before a triple block by Penn State ended the run.
  • Penn State made things interesting by pulling within three points at 22-19 on a Mende swing, but Fort Wayne scored three of the next five to take its second set of the match.
  • Set Score: Purdue Fort Wayne 25-20
  • Match Score: Purdue Fort Wayne leads 2-1

 
Fourth Set

  • The fourth set was tightly contested throughout as neither team led by more than two the entire duration of the frame.
  • Penn State trailed 14-12 but swung the score around with a pair of blocks and a kill to lead by one.
  • Falck Lauten tied the score at 23 and McLaren followed by tying the score at 23 on a pair of kills.
  • Purdue Fort Wayne scored the next point to bring up match point. After a Penn State timeout, Pelegrin Vargas finished the match with a game-clinching kill.
  • Set Score: Purdue Fort Wayne 25-23
  • Match Score: Purdue Fort Wayne wins 3-1

 
STAT STANDOUTS

  • Henrik Falck Lauten had a game-high 13 kills for the Nittany Lions while hitting at a .310 clip (13-4-29). It was the fourth time in the last five matches he has had double-digit kills. He also had 17 serve receptions without an error.
  • Matthew McLaren had 10 kills with a .333 hitting percentage (10-3-21) while tying Will Bantle for the team lead in digs with eight.
  • Canyon Tuman had a team-best seven blocks while chipping in five kills and a .444 hitting percentage.

 
NEXT UP

  • Penn State plays its final nonconference road match of the season Saturday evening at #15 Ball State.