UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State's three senior captains led the charge as the Lions advanced to the EIVA Championship match with a 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-15) win over George Mason on Thursday night at Rec Hall. The top-seeded Lions will go for their 35th EIVA Tournament title when they host second-seeded Princeton on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Cal Fisher hit .514 with 23 kills, Brett Wildman hit .500 with 14 kills and eight digs, and Cole Bogner led the team to .381 hitting with his 45 assists as the trio ensured their final match at Rec Hall will be a shot at the conference title. The three also fueled Penn State's strong night from the service line. Fisher and Wildman had three aces apiece, while Bogner contributed two.
While the team success was at the forefront of their minds, Fisher and Bogner also hit career individual milestones in the same match. Bogner went over 4,000 career assists in the second set. Fisher eclipsed 1,000 career kills in the third set, joining Wildman in the statistical club.
Penn State's Ryan Merk showed why he was recently tabbed as the EIVA Freshman of the Year, racking up 12 digs. He was joined in the defensive effort by Owen Rose and Cole Bogner with four blocks apiece. Rose's four blocks came in addition to his six kills on .667 hitting. Michal Kowal finished with seven kills.
The Lions dropped the first set and watched as first-team All-EIVA middle blocker Toby Ezeonu left with an injury. Sam Marsh, an honorable-mention All-EIVA player last season, stepped in and came through with three kills and an ace.
George Mason received a solid effort from Liam French, who hit .517 with 17 kills. Omar Hoyos chipped in with 14 kills and seven digs.
Set 1
Penn State started strong, jumping out to a 10-6 lead on a kill by Fisher, but George Mason used a 7-0 run to go up 14-11 and never trailed again. French hit .571 with five kills to lead the Patriots to the 25-19 win in the opening set.
Set 2
Fisher absolutely dominated in the second set, racking up 10 kills with no errors on 12 attacks for an .833 hitting percentage. He added an ace to give him 11 points in the set. The Lions hit .560 behind 11 assists from Bogner in the 25-17 win. Merk recorded his first career kill from his libero position, as a George Mason attack went off his chest and landed in the back corner on the Patriots' side. That came during a 5-1 run that gave the Lions a 17-11 lead. Marsh eventually secured the set for the Lions and tied the match with an ace.
Set 3
Fisher added eight more kills on .429 hitting and Wildman hit .625 with five kills to lead Penn State to a 25-22 win in set three. Merk led the defensive effort with five digs. The Lions trailed by two as late as 19-17 before scoring back-to-back points to tie the score. They tied it again at 20-20 on a kill by Fisher. With the score knotted at 21-21, the Lions took the lead on another Fisher kill and then made it 23-21 on a block by Bogner and Rose that forced a George Mason timeout. They eventually got the set win on yet another kill by Fisher.
Set 4
Penn State avoided any drama in Rec Hall with a 25-15 win in set four. Wildman led the way with five kills on .714 hitting, Rose had three kills on his four attacks, and Bogner tallied 12 assists while guiding the team to .600 hitting. The Lions led 17-14 before going on a 7-0 run. George Mason ended the run, only to have Rose finish the match with a kill on the next point.
Career Highs
Ryan Merk – kills (1)
