FAIRFAX. Va. – The No. 2 Penn State men's volleyball team had a huge defensive performance as a team with 14.0 team blocks in its straight-sets win (25-20, 25-13, 25-19) at George Mason Saturday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions (17-3, 10-0 EIVA) extend their nation-best winning streak to 13 victories in a row and remain perfect in conference play with the victory.
Middle blockers Sam Marsh and Toby Ezeonu each tallied seven blocks for the Nittany Lions with at least seven total Nitttany Lions registering at least one block.
Marsh also remained red-hot at the service line with four service aces, tying the team lead with Brett Wildman. Wildman's nine kills were a team best, closely followed by Cal Fisher's eight.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State got out to an early jump with Cal Fisher scoring a service ace to start the match. The Nittany Lions' defense was a defining attribute in the first set with the team recording five blocks. Penn State was able to maintain a lead the entirety of the set, and a block by Sam Marsh and Will Kuhns concluded the first set, 25-20.
Brett Wildman and Marsh both began hitting at .500 and Toby Ezeonu at 1.000. The team remained calm and in control from beginning to end.
Going into the second set, the Nittany Lions continued with the dominating energy going on a four-point scoring run. Penn State's powerful from behind the service line posed a challenge to George Mason scoring seven service aces. The Patriots' attack error ends the set with Penn State claiming another win, 25-13.
Fisher recorded five kills by the end of the second set, and Wildman hit at a .556 hitting percentage. Wildman and Marsh both scored three service aces each in the second set contributing to the overall 11 service aces scored at the end of the second set.
In the third set, George Mason got an early jump on Penn State. With back-to-back kills by Cole Bogner in the middle of the set, the momentum switched over to the Nittany Lions. The team was able to close out the set and match with a massive block by Marsh and Bogner to sweep the Patriots on the road, 25-20, 25-13, 25-19.
By the end of the match, Wildman recorded nine kills with Fisher just behind him with eight kills. Ezeonu had a final hitting percentage of .833 and five block assists. Bogner totaled 27 assists, and the team collectively only had eight hitting errors.
No. 2 Penn State remains undefeated in conference play and will return back to Rec Hall Friday, March 25-26 to play Harvard and Sacred Heart.
