UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's volleyball team clinched an EIVA postseason berth with its fifth-straight win, a 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 26-24) sweep of Charleston Friday night at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions are now back over .500 with a 13-12 overall record to go with their 9-2 mark in conference play which still ranks second behind Princeton (10-1).
Charleston drops to 9-17 overall and 1-10 in the EIVA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Nittany Lions got off to a slow start in the first set as the Golden Eagles put down five kills and an ace along with a pair of PSU errors to take an 8-1 advantage early on. Penn State settled in and roared back and retake the lead 16-15 on a Calvin Mende kill.
Six service aces by five different Nittany Lions also helped power the big comeback, including a set-clinching ace by Jason Donorovich, his second of the evening. After hitting -.400 early in the set, the Nittany Lions completed the frame with a .286 team hitting percentage (13-5-28).
The early portion of the second set was back-and-forth with neither team able to extend their lead beyond two points. Charleston looked poised to take the second set after a block gave the Golden Eagles a 23-21 advantage and forced a Penn State timeout.
The Golden Eagles struggled to close out the frame, however, and Penn State was able to make them pay. Three-straight errors by the Golden Eagles gave Penn State a 24-23 lead before Charleston finally found the court to tie the set at 24. Another attack error by the Golden Eagles gave the Nittany Lions a second set point where Brett Wildman finished the frame with a big kill to give Penn State a two-set lead.
In the third set, Penn State faced some adversity late but pulled through yet again to clinch the match. With the Nittany Lions leading 21-19, Charleston rattled off four points in a row to lead by two.
A kill by Canyon Tuman gave the Nittany Lions the serve down 23-22 and an ensuing block by Donorovich and Wildman followed by a Matthew McLaren kill put Penn State back in front 24-23. Charleston held off Penn State's first match point, but it was Wildman closing the set again, this time via a service ace, to win the match.
HEAR IT FROM THEM
Head Coach Mark Pavlik
- "I thought our poise and composure no matter who was on the court really was what showed through. We certainly weren't at our best, but we were good enough to win and good enough to turn points when we needed too. I was pleased with the fact that it didn't matter who was on the court."
- "I thought we did some really great things throughout the match. We are at that time of year where we just keep winning and you pocket the win and move on and get ready for the next match, which is always the important one."
Henrik Falck Lauten
- "Our setters were able to give us several options [late]... That clean style of volleyball is our style of volleyball."
MIKE ANDERSON MAN OF THE MATCH
- Henrik Falck Lauten came just one kill shy of his second double-double of the season with nine kills and 10 digs. He also hit .421 (9-1-19) and added a service ace.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State has now qualified for 42 consecutive conference postseasons dating back to its inaugural varsity season in 1977.
- Matthew McLaren helped balance out the Penn State attack by tying Falck Lauten with nine kills on 20 attacks (9-7-20, .100). He also added six digs defensively.
- Brett Wildman led the Nittany Lions with 10.5 points thanks to his seven kills (7-2-15, .333) and a match-high three service aces.
- Jason Donorovich had a team-high three blocks and tacked on two service aces to go with his .300 (4-1-10) hitting percentage.
- Cal Fisher filled in at libero for the injured Will Bantle and finished with three digs and five assists in his first start at the position.
- The Nittany Lions had eight service aces to Charleston's four. Penn State is now 10-1 this season when scoring more service aces than their opponent.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions will honor seniors Matthew McLaren, Lee Smith, and Frank Melvin in their final home match of the regular season tomorrow evening against #15 George Mason. First serve is set after a brief pre-match ceremony at 7 p.m.