UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 2/1 Penn State men's volleyball team showcased its depth and clutch factor in its 3-0 sweep (25-26, 31-29, 25-20) win over Sacred Heart Saturday, March 26, at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions (19-3) extend their win streak to 15 in a row and improve to 12-0 in league action. Penn State also adds to its flawless home record which now sits at 11-0.
Junior Jack Shampine started his first match of the 2022 season and led the Nittany Lions with 12 kills at a .318 rate. He also added four digs and a pair of blocks.
Senior Canyon Tuman entered the match in the second set and had a rock-solid match with eight kills, a .545 hitting percentage, and three blocks, including one with Shampine to win the extended second set.
Will Bantle led the Nittany Lions with nine digs followed by Brett Wildman with six. Wildman also had 10 kills and a pair of service aces.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Nittany Lions established their physical play early in the match to take the early advantage. Penn State hit .500 with 18 kills in the set while Sacred Heart managed just four kills and had three hitting errors.
A Shampine kill followed by an ace from Marsh gave PSU the 13-9 lead, quickly followed by another three-point spurt by the Nittany Lions with two kills by John Kerr.
An ace later in the frame from Bogner put Penn State firmly in control leading 21-13. Marsh ended the frame with his third kill of the set to give PSU the 25-16 win.
Penn State looked to be in control leading 15-6 in the second frame, but Sacred Heart battled back, including stopping three set points for Penn State and setting up a set point of their own at 25-24. However, a kill from Tuman evened the score at 25-all, and a service ace by Shampine put the service advantage back in Penn State's favor at 27-26.
Both teams continued to trade points until Penn State finally found the two-point edge at 31-29 after a big block at the right pin by Shampine and Tuman. Penn State led the match 2-0 after the extra-points win.
In the third game, the first extended advantage for Penn State came after an ace and a kill from Wildman to put Penn State head by four, 11-7.
Back-to-back blocks by the Pioneers pulled SHU back within one at 17-16, but Penn State quickly responded with five of the next six points, including two kills by Shampine.
Penn State turned to their closer in Ezeonu for a pair of kills down the stretch and wound up completing the sweep after a service error by the Pioneers on match point, 25-20.
MIKE ANDERSON MAN OF THE MATCH
Will Bantle's nine digs put him past the 600 career-dig milestone, becoming the 10th Nittany Lion ever to reach 600 digs.
MATCH NOTES AND STATS
- Shampine's 12 kills were a career high for the junior opposite.
- Tuman's eight kills were his most since posting eight against NJIT Feb. 13, 2021.
- Penn State has now won two matches when hitting below .300 after Saturday's .286 mark. The other was PSU's 3-2 win at NJIT Feb. 26 (.150).
NEXT UP
Has a one-match weekend in Loretto, Pa. when they face Saint Francis Saturday, April 2.