UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 11 Penn State men's volleyball team persevered in a battle with in-state rival Saint Francis to win a five-set battle 3-2 Saturday afternoon at Rec Hall, improving to 2-0 in EIVA play to start the season.
Penn State (5-1, 2-0 EIVA) fell behind 1-0 and 2-1 in the match but responded with wins in sets two, four, and five to maintain its four-match win streak.
"We're in a situation where we're going to play everyone twice and we're going to get to know what they do and how they do it," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "This is what were going to expect as the season goes is: the second nights are going to be tough nights. Were going to battle the first night and then the chess game begins. All in all, to be 2-0 in the EIVA right now and to protect home court, I'm pretty pleased with that."
Penn State had three hitters with double-digit kills in the game, juniors Brett Wildman and Cal Fisher and freshman Michael Valenzi, whose 10 kills marked his first time in double figures as a Nittany Lion.
Redshirt junior libero Will Bantle had a match-high 12 digs and helped provide stability for the Nittany Lions in pivotal moments throughout the match. Wildman also dug 11 balls to record the first double-double of his career.
In game one, Penn State fended off two set points and actually had a chance to win the set leading 25-24, but the Red Flash (1-8, 0-2 EIVA) scored three in a row to claw back and win the first game 27-25.
Penn State returned for the second set with a vengeance and started off red hot speeding to an 11-3 lead after service ace by Cole Bogner. An ace from Wildman and a block from Canyon Tuman and Valenzi late in the set sealed a dominant 25-13 game for Penn State.
The beginning of the third set played fairly evenly until Saint Francis won four points in a row to lead 14-11. Penn State ended up retaking the lead on a Valenzi kill at 20-19, but errors plagued the Nittany Lions late and helped the Red Flash take five of the next seven points to win the frame 25-23.
In a do-or-die fourth set, Penn State found a big spark from Wildman and Fisher who combined for three kills and a block during a 6-1 PSU run to hold a 20-13 edge in the frame. SFU pulled the margin to as close as three points, but Fisher ended the frame at 25-21 with a kill to send the match to a fifth set.
Penn State led 9-6 in the last game before a three-point SFU spurt tied the score. The Red Flash battled to lead 13-12 needing two more points to win, but Penn State clutched up with kills from Wildman and Valenzi as part of a 4-1 run to end the fifth set 16-14 and seal Penn State's fourth-straight victory.
Penn State hosts NJIT next weekend, Feb. 13-14, at Rec Hall to continue its EIVA schedule.
