UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 9 Penn State Men's Volleyball hit .481 on its way to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-13) win over NJIT in an EIVA match Saturday at Rec Hall South Gym. The Nittany Lions moved to 12-3 overall and 4-0 in the conference, while the Highlanders fell to 6-9, 0-3.
Luke Snyder set Penn State to an efficient night with his 32 assists. He added nine digs, two blocks and one ace. The Nittany Lions improved to 7-1 since he took over as the starter midway through the third set of a win over then-No. 1 Ohio State on Jan. 28.
Penn State was strong on both sides as John Kerr and Michal Kowal excelled in the win. Kerr hit .524 with 13 kills, four digs and two blocks. Kowal hit .579 with 12 kills, five digs and one block.
Meanwhile, middle blocker Toby Ezeonu created havoc defensively at the net. He led all players with seven blocks, including two solo, while also contributing seven kills on .462 hitting. Penn State had nine blocks as a team.
Alessandro Negri paced NJIT with 10 kills and seven digs. Antonio Feliciano chipped in with seven kills.
Set 1
Penn State started slow with a 4-0 deficit but bounced back in a hurry as it took the first set 25-21. The Nittany Lions used a 6-0 run to take their first lead at 8-7. Kerr was at the service line for five of those points. The teams battled close most of the way and were tied as late as 21-21 after a kill by NJIT's Feliciano. Penn State scored the next four points to close the set. The first two came on kills by Kerr. Ezeonu followed with the next two on a kill and a solo block. Kerr finished the set with six kills.
Set 2
Kowal hit .625 with five kills to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win in set two. The Nittany Lions trailed 11-10 but used a 4-0 run to go up 14-11 and never relinquished their lead. Kerr had two kills and an ace during the run. The Highlanders got as close as two as late as 18-16. The Nittany Lions led by as much as six at 24-18 after a block by Snyder and Ezeonu.
Set 3
Penn State hit .630 behind 15 assists from Snyder and cruised to a 25-13 win in the final set. Kerr and Michael Valenzi each had four kills, while Kowal, Owen Rose and Will Kuhns added three apiece. It was Kuhns who sealed the match with the final kill.
Career Highs
Matthew Luoma – digs (1)
Up Next
No. 9 Penn State travels to play No. 1 Long Beach State on Friday, March 1.
