UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Michal Kowal hit .697 with 24 kills to lead No. 9 Penn State to a 3-1 (25-21, 32-34, 25-16, 25-21) win over visiting FDU in a non-conference men's volleyball match Saturday in Rec Hall's South Gym. The Nittany Lions upped their record to 8-3, while the Knights fell to 6-3.
Penn State ran its winning streak at Rec Hall to 10 straight matches, with the last loss coming to Ohio State on March 21, 2023.
Kowal fueled Penn State's attack on a night that the Nittany Lions were without three starters. He had six or more kills in each of the three sets won by Penn State. In addition to the 24 kills, which were just one off his career high of 25 that he set in five sets last week at Purdue Fort Wayne, Kowal tallied eight digs and two blocks. He was also a perfect 19-for-19 on serve receptions.
Will Kuhns joined Kowal in double-digits with his career-high 12 kills, while Owen Rose added eight on .583 hitting. Matt Cosgrove and Zach Stowe each made their first-career starts and contributed six and five kills, respectively. Stowe also had three of the team's five aces.
Penn State hit .310 behind 41 assists from Luke Snyder, who added 10 digs to record his first-career double-double. Ryan Merk chipped in with four digs and was a perfect 30-of-30 on serve receive.
FDU was led by Jamal Ellis Carballo with 15 kills. Ethan Young was right behind him with 12 kills.
Set 1
Kowal had six kills and no errors on eight attacks as Penn State took the first set 25-21. The Nittany Lions hit .385 thanks to 10 assists from Snyder. They broke a 13-13 tie with a 5-0 run that included kills by Kowal and Cosgrove. FDU only got as close as three the rest of the way.
Set 2
The second set included plenty of extra volleyball before FDU pulled out the 34-32 win. Penn State had six chances at set point denied, the last of which came with a 32-31 lead. The Knights' final three points came on a service error and two Penn State attack errors.
Set 3
Kowal was dominant in set three with seven kills and no errors on eight attacks as Penn State won 25-16. He led the way as the Nittany Lions hit .400 with 11 assists from Snyder. Kuhns had four kills in the set. Penn State took a 3-2 lead on a FDU service error and kept the lead the rest of the way. The Nittany Lions pulled away with a 5-0 run that put them up 12-6. Kowal had two kills during the run. They kept a large lead the rest of the set until Stowe closed it out with an ace.
Set 4
Rose was perfect in Penn State's 25-21 win in set four with five kills on five attacks. Kowal had six kills on eight swings. FDU looked poised to force a fifth set as it took a 20-18 lead, but Penn State responded with a 6-0 run that included five points with Carter Dittman at the service line. One of those points came on an ace by Dittman, while two came on kills by Kowal. The Knights ended the Nittany Lions' run with a kill by Young, but Rose followed with a kill to end the match.
Career Highs
Matt Cosgrove – kills (6), assists (1), digs (5), blocks (2)
Carter Dittman – aces (1)
Cole Ignaszak – digs (1)
Will Kuhns – kills (12)
Luke Snyder – kills (1), digs (10)
Zach Stowe – kills (5), aces (3), digs (2), blocks (2)
Up Next
No. 9 Penn State opens EIVA play with a pair of matches at No. 10 Princeton on Friday and Saturday.
