FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The No. 4 Penn State men's volleyball started hot and cruised to its fifth-straight victory in its 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-16) victory over Sacred Heart in EIVA action Saturday afternoon.
Penn State (9-3) remains perfect in EIVA play with a 4-0 record and extend their win streak that started Jan. 29 in a thrilling 3-2 win on the road at now No. 1-ranked Long Beach State.
The Nittany Lions had a balanced box score with contributions coming all throughout the lineup. Traditional stat leaders Brett Wildman and Cal Fisher both had solid outings with 10 kills each, with Fisher also acing five serves.
Michal Kowal started the match and had seven kills with a .545 hitting percentage in two sets played.
In the middle, Sam Marsh had a great defensive presence with a season-high seven blocks, while Toby Ezeonu added seven kills offensively at a .462 clip.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Nittany Lions had just about the best start a team could have with a 9-0 run to begin the match. That run included three service aces from Fisher, two blocks from Marsh, and a pair of kills by Wildman.
Another run later in the set, this time a 5-0 spurt by the visitors, all but sealed the first game in Penn State's favor 25-13. The Nittany Lions hit .320 in the frame while keeping the Pioneers to a negative hitting percentage at -.043, much to do with Marsh's five blocks in the opening game.
In the second game, an ace by Kowal capped another hot start for Penn State with PSU in front, 4-1. The Pioneers flip the score to lead 7-6, but then three earned points by Toby Ezeonu allowed Penn State to retake control and hold it from there.
Jack Shampine entered as a service sub and had a nice set to Kowal for a kill to finish a long rally at 22-15 for the Nittany Lions. Penn State closed the set at 25-17.
Midway through the third game, Penn State were up by two at 12-10 before a 6-0 run featuring kills by Fisher and Ezeonu plus an ace by Marsh and a couple errors by the Pioneers put clinching the match within reach for the Nittany Lions.
The Nittany Lions did just that, ending the set 25-16 with kills by Fisher and Tim Herget to complete the sweep.
MATCH NOTES AND STATS
- Penn State continues to hold a perfect scorecard in EIVA play with 12-straight set wins.
- The Nittany Lions improve to 9-0 this season when hitting .300-or-better as a team. They hit .372 in Saturday's match.
- PSU's 7.0 team blocks are its most since posting 9.5 against Princeton back on Feb. 4.
- Fisher now has 116 career service aces, just one behind Jalen Penrose's 117 for fifth-most in Nittany Lion history. He's up to 23 for the season.
NEXT UP
Penn State hosts Saint Francis (Pa.) Saturday, Feb. 19, at Rec Hall. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.