UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 9 Penn State Men's Volleyball is all alone in first place in the EIVA after a 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-20) win over NJIT on Friday night in Rec Hall South Gym. The Nittany Lions won their fourth-straight match to improve to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the conference. The Highlanders dropped to 6-8, 0-2.
Numerous Penn State players put up big numbers in the win, led by Toby Ezeonu with 12 kills on .800 hitting in addition to four blocks and a match-ending ace. John Kerr recorded a double-double with 10 digs and 14 kills on .462 hitting. Owen Rose hit .556 with seven kills, two aces and five blocks, while Michal Kowal reached double-digits with 10 digs and had a pair of aces.
Luke Snyder tallied 38 assists while leading Penn State to .323 hitting, including a .737 clip in the second set. He added seven digs and one ace. Ryan Merk did his part at libero with five digs and a perfect 21-for-21 mark on serve receptions.
Penn State ended the final three sets with aces. It was Rose in the second set, Kowal in the third, and Ezeonu in the final set.
With George Mason's 3-1 loss to Charleston and Harvard's 3-0 defeat to Princeton on Friday, Penn State is the last remaining unbeaten team in the EIVA.
NJIT received a huge performance from Carson Williams in a losing effort. He hit .909 with 10 kills and two blocks.
Set 1
Alessandro Negri's six kills helped NJIT take the opening set 25-23. Neither team led by more than three during the set. The score was tied at 23-23 following a kill by Kerr. NJIT responded with the final two points on a pair of blocks.
Set 2
Penn State bounced back with a dominant 25-15 win thanks to .737 hitting in the second set. Kerr had five kills on six swings, while Rose was perfect on his four attacks. Snyder guided the attack with 11 assists and had one of the team's three aces. The other two came from Rose and Kowal.
Set 3
Penn State held NJIT to .125 hitting in a 25-17 win in the third set. The Nittany Lions led 10-6, but the Highlanders stormed back with a 5-0 run to go up 11-10. Penn State responded with a 4-0 run that included kills by Kowal, Rose, and Kerr, and never trailed again.
Set 4
Ezeonu was perfect on his four swings, and Kerr had four kills on five attacks in Penn State's 25-20 win in the fourth set. Michael Valenzi, Rose, and Ezeonu all had aces in the set. The Nittany Lions trailed 19-18 before going on a 5-0 run to take a 23-19 lead. Ezeonu had a kill and a solo block during the run. He went on to end the match with an ace.
Career Highs
Michal Kowal – digs (10)
Luke Snyder – kills (3)
Up Next
Penn State and NJIT play again on Saturday. The match is scheduled for 4 p.m., in Rec Hall South Gym.
