FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The No. 12 Penn State men's volleyball team withstood a furious rally from Sacred Heart to win the second match of the weekend over the Pioneers 3-1 Sunday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions (8-2, 5-1 EIVA) cruised to wins in sets one and two, but the Pioneers (0-4, 0-4 EIVA) caught fire early in set three to eventually force a fourth game. SHU started hot in the fourth set as well, but Penn State surged back to win the fourth game after trailing by as much as five points.
"It was a match that we played some very good volleyball, but we had some stretches where we played predictable and that got us into trouble," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "But we managed to keep clawing back and made plays when we needed to. I really like the resilience of this team."
Freshman Michael Valenzi was Penn State's primary offensive option for the game with a season-best 17 kills hitting .448 (17-4-29). He also had season highs in digs (8) and aces (2)
Penn State's serving proved to be lethal once again as the Nittany Lions compiled 13 aces in the match, including six from junior Cal Fisher, while also putting Sacred Heart out of system often from the line.
Junior Sam Marsh also tied his career high with eight blocks in the match, including a solo stuff after a great defensive scramble for the Nittany Lions kept play alive on a pivotal fourth-set point.
Set one was competitive between both teams as Sacred Heart was able to keep the score close, tying the score 14-14. However, the Nittany Lions found a nice groove offensively and ended up scoring nine of the last 11 points, including a 7-0 to complete the set.
Fisher had a pair of aces in the run, including on the set-clinching point to win game one 25-16.
An early set-two spurt for Penn State allowed the Nittany Lions to take a 10-4 advantage. The run included a kill from Connecticut native Tim Herget plus two more by Valenzi.
The Pioneers pulled the score back within two at 14-12, but seven of the next nine points went to Penn State capped by a great block by Marsh and Fisher to allow Penn State a comfortable 21-14 lead. Back-to-back kills by Herget and Fisher won the last two points of the set for PSU, completing a 25-17 game.
Sacred Heart managed its best run of the weekend with a 7-point run to lead 13-6 early in set three before a Kowal kill and a Jack Driscoll ace stopped the bleeding.
The Nittany Lions pieced together a run thanks to two more aces by Fisher to shrink the deficit to three at 17-14. Another Nittany Lions run sparked by four different players plus a Bogner service ace pulled Penn State back within one as late as 24-23, but SHU closed the set on the next point with a kill to send the match to a fourth game.
Penn State zoomed back out of an early five-point hole in the fourth to tie the score at 8-8 and eventually took back the lead on an SHU error 11-10.
Junior Cole Bogner had a great diving play to keep the ball alive after it ricocheted off the ceiling and Penn State won the point on a Marsh solo block to lead 14-13. That momentous play for PSU started a 7-2 run, which included another block and ace from Marsh, to give Penn State a 21-15 lead and forcing an SHU timeout.
Penn State earned three of its next four points to clinch the game and the match thanks to kills by Fisher, Kowal and Marsh to end it.
GAME NOTES AND STATS
- Redshirt junior Will Bantle tied a season high with 12 digs. It's his fifth career match with double-digit digs.
- Bogner had 43 assists to tie his season high while adding 3 aces. Penn State is 9-3 in Bogner's career when he has at least 40 assists in a match.
- Valenzi is averaging 9.2 kills per match in his last five matches. His 17 kills today and 10 kills Feb. 6 against Saint Francis are two of three matches with double-digit kills by a PSU freshman this season (Kowal, Feb. 13 vs. NJIT).
NEXT UP
Penn State returns to Rec Hall to start a four-match home stretch starting with a big series against George Mason Feb. 26-27. Both matches start a 7 p.m.