UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 2 Penn State men's volleyball returned to Rec Hall for the first time in a month and posted a 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-14) sweep over visiting Saint Francis in a non-conference match Saturday night.
The Nittany Lions upped their record to 18-2, while the Red Flash dropped to 6-11. The Lions swept the two-match season series over the former EIVA opponent.
Cal Fisher and Cole Bogner each posted a double-double for Penn State. Fisher led the team in kills with 11 and added 10 digs. Bogner led the team in both assists with 34 and digs with 11.
Brett Wildman finished with seven kills and six digs for the Lions. Michal Kowal had six kills, while Michael Valenzi and Toby Ezeonu contributed five apiece.
Andrew Deardorff paced Saint Francis with nine kills and six digs. Penn State held the Red Flash to .084 hitting. Conversely, the Lions were held to .244 hitting, their lowest percentage of the season.
Set 1
Penn State shook off a slow start to get the 27-25 win in the opening set. Saint Francis led by as much as five at 17-12 before Penn State closed the gap with a 3-0 run that included a kill by Fisher and a solo block by Wildman that forced a Red Flash timeout. The Red Flash regrouped and led by three at 22-19. The Lions used another 3-0 run that was fueled by back-to-back aces by Fisher to knot the score at 22-all. But they found themselves with their backs to the wall as Saint Francis scored the next two points. The Lions stayed alive with a service error and a score-tying block by Ezeonu and Wildman. They staved off another set-point attempt for the Red Flash with a kill by Fisher and then made it a 3-0 run to win the set with back-to-back aces by Ezeonu. In addition to his two aces, Ezeonu was a perfect 3-for-3 on his attacks in the set.
Set 2
Fisher hit .545 with seven kills to lead Penn State to another close win in set two with a 25-22 score. The set was close most of the way. The Lions took a 19-16 lead with kills by Fisher and Kowal. They still led by just two, 20-18, before going on a 4-0 run that included two kills by Kowal and one by Fisher. The set was eventually clinched on a service error.
Set 3
Sam Marsh and Michael Valenzi came off the bench to start the third set and helped Penn State cruise to a 25-14 win. Marsh had three blocks, while Valenzi hit .333 with five kills. Bogner tallied 10 assists as the Lions hit .321. The Lions pulled away with a 7-0 run to go up 17-9. Valenzi had a pair of kills during that stretch, while Wildman had a kill and an ace.
Up Next
No. 2 Penn State is back at Rec Hall when it hosts No. 15 Ohio State on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
