PRINCETON, N.J. – No. 9 Penn State Men's Volleyball won its 30th-consecutive EIVA regular season match with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-21) sweep over No. 15 Princeton at Dillon Gymnasium on Saturday night.
The Nittany Lions, who defeated the Tigers for the second-straight night, improved to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the EIVA. The Tigers fell to 6-7, 0-2. Penn State was picked first in the EIVA Preseason Coaches Poll, while Princeton was second. The two teams have combined to win the past four EIVA Tournament titles.
Included in Penn State's 30-match streak are six wins each over Princeton and Charleston, four each over George Mason, NJIT and Harvard, and two each over Sacred Heart, Saint Francis and St. Francis Brooklyn.
Penn State shook off a slow start offensively with a strong performance at the service line. The Nittany Lions finished with nine aces, including a career-high five from Toby Ezeonu. Matt Cosgrove had two aces, while Michal Kowal and Owen Rose chipped in with one apiece.
The Nittany Lions' .216 hitting percentage for the match was a little deceiving as it was weighed down by a -.067 mark in the opening set. They turned it around after that, hitting at a .500 clip in the second set and .318 in the third.
Kowal finished with exactly 10 kills for the second-straight night. Cosgrove, Rose, Ezeonu and Michael Valenzi all added five kills. Luke Snyder was perfect on his two attacks and guided the offense with 27 assists.
Penn State held Princeton to .139 hitting. Ryan Merk, Rose and Snyder helped that cause with five digs apiece.
Nyherowo Omene had a huge match for Princeton on Friday but was held to six kills on -.091 hitting on Saturday. This time it was Ben Harrington that put up a stellar showing for the Tigers with 11 kills on .450 hitting.
Set 1
Penn State pulled off a 26-24 win despite hitting -.067 and having zero blocks. The block was still helpful in forcing five Princeton attack errors. The service pressure carried the Nittany Lions to the opening-set win as they finished with seven aces and forced numerous over passes. Ezeonu had four aces himself, including a stretch of three straight that helped Penn State take an early 12-7 lead. Princeton later used a 3-0 run to go up 19-18, led by as much as three at 22-19, and was still up two at 24-22. The Nittany Lions closed the set with a 4-0 run. The four points were scored on a service error, a bad set, and two attack errors.
Set 2
Kowal had four kills on five attacks, and Ezeonu was perfect on his two swings and added another ace as Penn State took the second set 25-20. The Nittany Lions broke a 17-17 tie with a 3-0 run that included kills by Rose and Valenzi. The score remained close at 22-20 before the Nittany Lions scored the final three points on a service error, a kill by Ezeonu, and a kill by Will Kuhns. Snyder's 10 assists helped his team hit .500 in the set.
Set 3
Ezeonu and Kowal had three kills apiece to help Penn State finish off the match with a 25-21 win in set three. Snyder added another 10 assists. The Nittany Lions trailed 13-12 before going on a 3-0 run with a kill by Ezeonu, an ace by Cosgrove, and a block by Ezeonu and Valenzi. They went up 18-14 with another 3-0 run that was capped by a kill from Ezeonu. Princeton only got as close as two the rest of the way. Match point was eventually scored on a kill by Kowal.
Career Highs
Matt Cosgrove – aces (2)
Toby Ezeonu – aces (5)
Luke Snyder – kills (2)
Up Next
Penn State continues EIVA play with a pair of home matches against NJIT in Rec Hall's South Gym. The teams play Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday at 4 p.m.
