UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 2/1 Penn State men's volleyball team continued its hot streak with another EIVA victory in 3-0 fashion, 25-12, 25-17 and 25-20, over Harvard Friday evening at Rec Hall.
The win for Penn State (18-3) marked its 14th in a row and helped the Nittany Lions improve to 11-0 in league play and 10-0 at home. Penn State also put a halt to Harvard's (8-9, 6-3 EIVA) six-match EIVA win streak.
Penn State a very balanced and potent offensive performance throughout the lineup. Sophomore outside hitter Michael Valenzi led all hitters with 10 kills while swining .643 (10-1-14). He also had four digs, a pair of blocks, and an ace.
Senior middle blocker Sam Marsh also remained scorching hot of late with seven kills, three aces, and seven blocks. Senior Brett Wildman also had a seven-kill errorless performance.
Senior Cole Bogner paced the offense to a .537 hitting percentage (41-5-67) with 35 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State was quick to get on the board going on an early four-point scoring run to lead 7-2. PSU's momentum continued when Sam Marsh scored back-to-back service aces, prompting Harvard to a timeout at 17-9.
It was all but clinched for Penn State at that point, as Marsh and Cal Fisher's block put an end to the first set at 25-12.
Michael Valenzi led the offense with four kills and an ace, with the team having a .524 kill percentage. Marsh totaled two blocks, and by the end of the first set, there was only one error for Penn State on a Harvard block.
Going into the second set, Harvard got on the scoreboard first yet ended shortly after Fisher went behind the service line to score two service aces to lead 9-7.
Penn State hit at a scorching .714 as a team and its five service aces really provided a boost in the set, but it was also two huge back-to-back blocks by Marsh and Bogner to cap a 5-0 scoring run at 23-15 and put Penn State in control.
Marsh wound up securing the second set for Penn State, 25-17, with his third service ace of the match.
Entering the third set, Penn State turned to Toby Ezeonu early for some easy points. Ezeonu put down three kills and a service ace during a 7-3 Penn State run to force a Harvard timeout.
However, the Crimson fought its way back to trail by only one point after an ace capped a 6-2 run to make it 20-19 Nittany Lions.
After a quick reset with a timeout, Penn State quickly stalled Harvard's run to win five of the next six points to clinch the set and the match. Valenzi set the tone with a kill and solo block to bring the momentum back to Penn State.
Jack Shampine scored back-to-back kills and Bogner aced his final serve to win the set 25-20 and claim the 3-0 sweep.
MIKE ANDERSON MAN OF THE MATCH
Penn State's wRECking Crew provided a big boost for the Nittany Lions with one of their biggest showings of the season to help the Nittany Lions with their home-court advantage.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions are set to face Sacred Heart Saturday, March 26, at 3 p.m.
