CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The No. 2 Penn State men's volleyball team finished up the 2022 regular season with another victory, its 19th in a row, in a 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 15-25, 25-12) victory on the road at Charleston Friday evening.
The Nittany Lions complete the 2022 season 23-3 overall and end the EIVA conference schedule with a perfect 16-0 mark, its most wins without a loss in EIVA play in program history.
Penn State was paced by pin hitters Brett Wildman (12 kills) and Jack Shampine (11 kills) offensively. Toby Ezeonu added an errorless eight kills with a .615 hitting percentage and Cole Bogner aced four serves with 36 assists as the Nittany Lions took sets 1, 2, and 4 to win the match.
HOW IT HAPPNED
Penn State took a 10-7 lead in the first set thanks to a 3-0 run that included points from Wildman and Shampine and the first ace from Bogner in the match. Shampine used a service run for four more points to lead 16-11.
The Nittany Lions stayed in control and didn't allow the Golden Eagles to rattle off more than two points in a row as Penn State closed the set with a 25-18 win after another Shampine kill and an overpass point from Bogner.
Bogner's serve remained hot with two more aces to begin the second game. Though Charleston wound up tying the set at 10-all, Penn State quickly scored three in a row with two points from Brett Wildman. The Golden Eagles did manage to keep it close and tied the score again at 20-20.
From there, Penn State's ability to make winning plays took over as they rattled off five of the next six points to close the game 25-21.
Charleston provided resistance early in the third game with a quick start to build a 5-1 lead. The Golden Eagles never allowed Penn State to tie the score in the frame and used a seven-point run to end the set with a 25-15 win to win their first set of the match. Penn State led the match 2-1 at that point.
The set loss lit a fire for the Nittany Lions as they went on a tear to begin the four set. Penn State rattled off a 15-2 run to begin set four. The big lead in the game was more than enough for the Nittany Lions to take the game 25-12. Penn State hit .316 in the set as Charleston hit negative at -0.120.
NEXT UP
Penn State hosts the EIVA Tournament April 20-23 at Rec Hall. The top-seeded Nittany Lions will play in the semifinal round Thursday, April 21, at 7 p.m.
