FAIRFAX, Va. – No. 3 Penn State men's volleyball moved one step closer to the EIVA regular season title and hosting rights for the conference tournament with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-15) road sweep over George Mason on Friday night.
The Nittany Lions improved to 21-3 overall and 7-0 in the conference, while the Patriots fell to 10-13 overall and 2-5 in the league. The Lions are two matches ahead of Charleston (WV) in the EIVA standings and can clinch the regular season title with another win over the Patriots on Saturday coupled with another loss by the Eagles to Princeton the same day.
Penn State needed just 30 kills while hitting .342 to get the sweep over George Mason. The Lions added nine points on aces and 11 on blocks.
Wildman led the impressive night at the service line for Penn State. His seven aces matched his career high that he set in a sweep of Saint Francis last season. Three of his aces came consecutively in the first-set win.
The Lions' other two aces came from Cal Fisher. He added those to his team-high 13 kills on .385 hitting and his four blocks.
Owen Rose led the defensive effort at the net with five blocks, while Ryan Merk anchored the back-row defense with 12 digs. That matched the career high that Merk set in his collegiate debut against Central State this season, but that came over four sets.
Cole Bogner assisted on 24 of Penn State's 30 kills. Michal Kowal hit .385 with six kills, while Toby Ezeonu hit .444 with five kills.
George Mason's Omar Hoyos finished with 13 kills, but the Lions held him to .241 hitting. The Patriots hit .133 as a team.
Set 1
Wildman had four aces in the first set to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win. All four, including three consecutively, came during a 7-0 serving run that put the Lions up 22-16. Fisher also had an ace in addition to his three kills. The Lions needed just nine kills in the set.
Set 2
Penn State posted another 25-20 win in the second set behind five kills and an ace from Fisher. Ezeonu had three kills and no errors on his five swings. The Lions pulled away with a 4-0 run that put them up 20-15. Fisher had two kills and an ace during the run. Merk racked up six digs to help hold the Patriots to .226 hitting in the set.
Set 3
Fisher kept rolling with five kills on .444 hitting and Wildman tacked on two more aces as Penn State cruised to a 25-15 win in the final set. Kowal added three kills and four digs.
Career Highs
Toby Ezeonu – assists (2)
Up Next
Penn State and George Mason play again on Saturday at 5 p.m.
