NEWARK, N.J. – Toby Ezeonu hit .765 with 14 kills and four blocks to lead the third-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-20) win over NJIT in an EIVA match Saturday night at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center.
The Nittany Lions improved to 13-1 overall and 4-0 in the EIVA with their second win over NJIT in as many days. The Highlanders fell to 5-9 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
NJIT was without 6-7 senior middle blocker Martin de Chavarria, a three-time All-EIVA selection who ranks third in the conference in blocks/set. Penn State took advantage with a dominant performance from its starting middles. Thirty of the team's 64 attacks came from Owen Rose and Ezeonu. Rose finished with seven kills and four blocks.
Cal Fisher took just one swing for the Lions in the opening set but came alive over the final two. He tallied 10 kills on .500 hitting in addition to five digs and one ace. Brett Wildman hit .400 with five kills, three digs, two blocks and one ace.
Ryan Merk paced the back row effort for Penn State with a match-high six digs. That and eight blocks by the Lions led to a .125 hitting percentage for the Highlanders.
Carson Williams was again strong offensively for NJIT, hitting .636 with seven kills. He hit .700 with 15 kills on the weekend.
Penn State improved to 52-2 in the all-time series with NJIT. The Lions have won 22 straight EIVA regular season matches dating back to a loss to George Mason on April 3, 2021.
Set 1
The middles got going early for Penn State as it rolled to a 25-17 win in the opening set. Twelve of the team's 14 attacks came from Ezeonu and Rose. Ezeonu was perfect with five kills on five swings. Rose hit .571 with five kills and one error on his seven swings. The Lions hit .643 behind 10 assists from Bogner.
Set 2
Penn State continued with its efficient offensive attack with another easy 25-17 win in the second set, hitting .500 behind 13 assists from Bogner. Ezeonu added six more kills with just one error on seven attacks. Fisher hit .500 with five kills. The Lions were able to side out at 94 percent.
Set 3
Fisher added five more kills on .571 hitting to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win in the final set. Ezeonu and Wildman had three kills apiece, while Bogner contributed another set with double-digit assists with 10. The Lions started to pull away with a 3-0 run that put them up 16-13. Ezeonu was in on a pair of blocks, one with Wildman and another with Bogner, and Michal Kowal had an ace during the run. Ezeonu eventually clinched the match with his 14th kill.
Up Next
Penn State heads to California for a pair of non-conference matches next week. The Lions play at Concordia on Saturday March 4, and at No. 6 UC Irvine on Sunday, March 5.
