PRINCETON, N.J. – The No. 2/1 Penn State men's volleyball team picked up its 12th win in a row Friday night with a four-set (25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21) victory over Princeton in EIVA conference action.
Penn State (16-3) improved to 9-0 in the EIVA and picked up its second win over the Tigers in the stretch. The Nittany Lions' 12-match win streak is its longest since its 17-match streak in 2015.
Penn State was paced by senior opposite Cal Fisher and the middle-blocker duo of Toby Ezeonu and Sam Marsh. Fisher scored a team-best 18 kills while hitting .375 and adding four blocks. Fisher's 18 kills were his most in a match since posting 20 against USC Jan. 21.
Ezeonu and Marsh combined for 15 kills with only two errors to hit .542 as a duo. Marsh also continued his hot serving stretch with three more aces.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State was battling for the lead in the first set until Sam Marsh had back-to-back kills, putting the Nittany Lions at a slight lead, 10-8. Penn State started to gain momentum and was able to close out the first set 25-16.
Marsh leads the way after the first set with four kills and a service ace, and Brett Wildman performing at a .667 hitting percentage.
Early in the second set, Princeton shifted into a four-person serve receive to adjust to the challenging Penn State serves. Penn State continued with the same energy to establish an early 4-1 lead.
The Nittany Lions were able to keep ahold of this lead until halfway through the set when the Tigers were starting to fight back. Despite the determination of the Tigers, it was no match for Cal Fisher as he scored back-to-back kills establishing a big enough lead for Penn State to win the second set, 25-23.
By the end of the second set, senior setter Cole Bogner racks up 26 assists. As for the offense, Wildman and Fisher had so far recorded six kills each.
At the start of the third set, Princeton was the first to take control gaining points from Penn State's errors. As the Nittany Lions were fighting back from its deficit, Princeton went on a four-point scoring run to secure its position and win the third set, 25-23.
Toby Ezeonu, the New Jersey native, was hitting at .500 hitting percentage with six kills and Fisher added six more kills to his total.
At the beginning of the fourth set, Penn State had an early five-point scoring run, setting the team up in a beneficial position, 9-5. While Princeton's Ben Harrington was a leading role in Princeton's offense, the team's errors were what gave Penn State the advantage and extended lead.
Ezeonu had a massive kill to conclude the fourth set and the match. Bogner finished the match with 45 assists and three kills. Fisher totaled 18 kills and four total blocks. Ezeonu hit a .583 hitting percentage and also recorded four total blocks.
Penn State will have a travel day Saturday before facing George Mason Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.
