IRVINE, Calif. – No. 3 Penn State upped its winning streak to nine with a come-from-behind 3-2 (32-34, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 15-11) win over No. 6 UC Irvine in non-conference men's volleyball action Saturday night at the Bren Events Center. The Nittany Lions improved to 15-1 overall, while the Anteaters dropped to 10-6.
Penn State weathered a 13-ace night by UC Irvine to get the win. The Lions countered with 13 blocks and six aces of their own. They also hit .311 compared to .239 by the Anteaters.
The middles shined for Penn State as Toby Ezeonu, the nation's leader in hitting percentage, tallied 12 kills on .455 hitting in addition to six blocks. Owen Rose hit .529 with nine kills and five blocks.
Cal Fisher finished with a team-high 14 kills for the Lions, matched Ryan Merk for the team lead in digs with nine and added a career-high six blocks. He also had three aces, including one to clinch the match. That ace secured the team's fifth win this season over a team ranked in the top 10 of the AVCA Coaches Poll at the time of the match.
Penn State's depth was on display yet again as head coach Mark Pavlik turned to Michael Valenzi off the bench. Making his first appearance since Feb. 17, the former EIVA Freshman of the Year entered midway through the third set. His five kills, five digs, and four blocks all came over the final two sets to help the Lions get the win.
Cole Bogner guided the offense with 43 assists while also contributing five kills on eight swings. He went to six different players on the night. Joining the others with kills were Michal Kowal with eight and Brett Wildman with six.
Penn State picked up its 15th win of the season despite numerous huge individual performances for UC Irvine. Hilir Henno totaled 20 kills and an impressive nine aces. Five of those aces came in the third-set win. Francesco Sani hit .312 with 22 kills. Cole Power and Joe Karlous contributed 18 and 16 digs, respectively.
The teams played each other for the first time since 2016. The Lions improved to 6-8 in the all-time series.
Set 1
One night after winning a set 40-38 against Concordia Irvine, Penn State played plenty of extra volleyball again in a 34-32 loss in the opening set to UC Irvine. Henno carried the Anteaters to the 1-0 lead in the match with seven kills on eight swings. The Lions hit .441 in a losing effort behind 11 assists from Bogner. The set was close from start to finish with neither team leading by more than three at any point. There were seven lead changes and 22 ties. The Anteaters eventually won with an ace and a whistle for a bad set on Penn State.
Set 2
Penn State bounced back with a 25-23 win in the second set behind four kills and three digs by Fisher. It was another hard-fought set with the largest lead by either team again being three. The Lions led 22-19 before the Anteaters clawed back to tie it at 23-23. Following a service error by the Anteaters, Gabe Hartke went to the line for the Lions, who grabbed set point with a block by Rose and Bogner.
Set 3
Penn State couldn't solve Henno's serve in the third set as he racked up five aces in a 25-18 win. Henno went to the service line with a 12-8 lead and by the time he was done the Anteaters led 18-8. Four of his five aces in the set came during that stretch.
Set 4
The teams battled to an 18-18 score before Penn State went on a 5-0 run on its way to a 25-22 win in set four. Rose and Fisher had kills during that stretch. Fisher eventually added another kill to tie the match at 2-2. The Lions received multiple kills from five different players, led by Fisher with four.
Set 5
Valenzi came up big in the final set with three kills and two blocks in Penn State's 15-11 win. The Lions found themselves down 3-1 early, but Valenzi stepped up with two kills and was in on a block as the they evened the score at 4-4. Valenzi later broke an 8-8 tie with another kill. After the Anteaters tied it up at 9-9, the Lions started to pull away with a 3-0 run that included a kill by Fisher and was capped with a triple block by Fisher, Rose, and Valenzi. The Anteaters got back within two at 13-11, but the Lions responded with a kill by Ezeonu and a match-clinching ace by Fisher.
Career Highs
Cal Fisher – blocks (6)
Up Next
No. 3 Penn State heads to Honolulu for three matches at the Outrigger Challenge. The Lions will play No. 2 UCLA on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET, No. 1 Hawaii on Saturday at 1 a.m. ET, and Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET. The matches against the Bruins and Rainbow Warriors will mark the eighth and ninth for the Lions against ranked opponents this season.
