CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 3 Penn State men's volleyball upped its EIVA regular season winning streak to 24 matches with a 3-0 (25-17, 29-27, 25-21) win at Harvard on Saturday. The Nittany Lions improved to 20-3 overall and are unbeaten at 6-0 in the conference, while the Crimson close the weekend at 7-13 overall and 0-6 in league play.
Penn State's hitting numbers weren't up to its usual lofty standard, but the Lions made up for it with their serving. They racked up 11 aces, including a career-high four from Toby Ezeonu. Cal Fisher was right behind him with three aces, Brett Wildman had two, and Cole Bogner and Gabe Hartke contributed one apiece.
Michal Kowal wasn't involved much in the first set with just one kill on three attacks but came alive over the final two sets. He hit .500 with eight kills over the second and third sets to finish with nine kills on .467 hitting for the match.
Wildman also had nine kills to share the team high with Kowal. Cal Fisher was next with seven, which he recorded in addition to his eight digs and two blocks. Owen Rose hit .500 with six kills, and Ezeonu chipped in with five kills.
Bogner tallied 30 assists to give him 3,846 for his career. He has a chance to become just the seventh player in program history to reach the 4,000-assist milestone.
Zach Berty paced Harvard with nine kills and two aces. Kade McGovern had a solid showing with eight kills and nine digs.
Set 1
Rose had three kills on three swings and Wildman had three kills of his own to lead Penn State to a 25-17 win in the first set. The aces started early for the Lions with Ezeonu and Fisher serving for two apiece. Ezeonu's two aces came back-to-back during a 4-0 run that put the Lions up 18-12.
Set 2
Harvard gave Penn State all it could handle in the second set, but four kills apiece from Kowal, Wildman, and Fisher, plus another four aces for the team helped the Lions get the 29-27 win. The four aces came from Bogner, Wildman, Ezeonu, and Fisher. Despite leading as late as 22-21, the Crimson never had a chance at set point as they never regained the lead after Ezeonu put the Lions up 23-22 with an ace. Following a block by Wildman and Ezeonu, the Lions got the win as Wildman came through with an ace on the team's fifth chance at set point.
Set 3
Penn State was down 16-15 before going on a 5-0 run on its way to a 25-21 win in the final set. Gabe Hartke was on the line for a four-point serving run during that stretch, including an ace to put the Lions up 18-16. Kowal had four kills on .667 hitting in the set.
Career Highs
Toby Ezeonu – aces (4)
Up Next
Penn State continues EIVA play with a pair of matches at George Mason on April 7-8.
