UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The eighth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team remained hot with a sixth-straight 3-0 sweep, this time against Sacred Heart, and lengthened its overall win streak to nine matches Friday afternoon at Rec Hall.
Penn State (15-2, 12-1 EIVA) remained efficient and dominant offensively with a .480 team hitting percentage (44-8-75) for the match. Cole Bogner's 38 assists led the way to Brett Wildman scoring 17 kills and Jack Shampine adding 11 in his first career start at Rec Hall.
Bogner also tallied a team high eight digs with Wildman close behind at seven. Penn State also did not allow a service ace, finishing 42-42 on serve receive.
Two kills from Shampine in the first set fueled a five-point run to give the Nittany Lions an early 9-4 lead and Penn State continued to stretch that margin as the set wore on.
A kill and ace on back-to-back points by Michal Kowal put Penn State ahead 16-8, only to have that margin double again at 20-10 on a SHU hitting error. Penn State won the frame by a comfortable 12-point margin at 25-13.
Sacred Heart pieced together points in the second set to lead by three as late as 17-14, but then Penn State roared to a six-point run on Wildman service run to take its first lead of the set. The run included kills by Wildman and John Kerr as well as a Sam Marsh and Kerr block for PSU to lead 20-17.
The Nittany Lions finished the set on an 11-3 run to win the frame 25-20.
In game three, Penn State wasted little time seizing control and not allowing the Pioneers a chance to make a comeback. Three kills by Shampine during a six-point spurt for Penn State gave them a 7-2 lead that they would not relinquish.
After hitting .467 in game one and .524 in game two, Penn State finished the match strong with a .458 mark in the third game to win the frame 25-18.
GAME NOTES AND STATS
- Penn State has won 19-straight sets dating back to the fourth set of its 3-1 win against George Mason Feb. 26 at Rec Hall.
- Bogner is averaging 11.06 assists per set in his last six matches and Penn State is hitting .371 over that span.
- Wildman's streak of double-digit kill matches continues to eight-straight. He is also hitting .324 during that streak.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions square off with the Pioneers to finish their home regular season schedule Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.