UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 7 Penn State Men's Volleyball hit .449 on its way to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-16) sweep over visiting King University in a non-conference match Saturday at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions improved to 4-0 after starting the season with four straight home matches. The Tornado, which qualified for last year's NCAA Tournament, dropped to 0-2 with a pair of losses to EIVA opponents.
Freshman setter Michael Schwob led the efficient attack with 37 assists while also chipping in defensively with four digs. John Kerr was the busiest hitter on the night, leading all players with 15 kills on .480 hitting. It was the second time in three matches that Kerr averaged at least five kills per set. Toby Ezeonu also reached double-digits with 11 kills on .667 hitting.
Penn State held King to .056 hitting. Ryan Merk and Michael Valenzi helped that cause with eight digs apiece, while Kerr was right behind them with seven.
Warren Davis, an AVCA honorable mention All-American last season, led King with nine kills and four digs.
Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between Penn State and King.
Set 1
Six Penn State players combined for 14 kills on .458 hitting in a 25-16 win in the opening set. Kerr had four of those kills, while Schwob racked up 12 assists. Valenzi led the defensive effort with four digs. The Nittany Lions led by as much as 10 at 23-13 following a King service error. The final point came on a kill by Owen Rose.
Set 2
Schwob had 14 more assists in the second set as Penn State hit .522 in a 25-19 win. Ezeonu was nearly unstoppable with eight kills on nine swings. Kerr had four kills on five attacks. King was within three at 20-17 before the Nittany Lions scored back-to-back points on kills by Kerr and Will Kuhns. The set was eventually clinched with a solo block by Michal Kowal.
Set 3
Kerr helped secure the sweep with seven of Penn State's 11 kills in a 25-16 win in the third set. Merk had five digs to lead a defensive effort that held King to -.043 hitting. Penn State again led by three midway through the set before going on a 3-0 run to make the score 19-13. The run consisted of kills by Kerr, Rose and Kuhns. King only got as close as five the rest of the way.
Up Next
No. 7 Penn State heads to Austin, Texas for the First Point Collegiate Challenge. The Nittany Lions play No. 8 Stanford on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and No. 1 UCLA on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
