MUNCIE, Ind. – No. 8 Penn State Men's Volleyball hit .433 behind a career-high 47 assists from Luke Snyder in a 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-19) sweep at No. 15 Ball State in a non-conference match Friday night. The Nittany Lions upped their record to 7-2 with a third-straight win over a nationally-ranked team, while the Cardinals fell to 8-6.
Snyder made his first career start for the Nittany Lions. He earned the nod after entering midway through the third set and leading a reverse sweep of then-No. 1 Ohio State in the team's most recent match.
Michael Valenzi recorded his first career double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs while adding a pair of aces. John Kerr led all players with 13 kills on .440 hitting, while Michal Kowal hit .360 with 12 kills to give Penn State three players with double-digit kills. Owen Rose and Toby Ezeonu each contributed eight kills while hitting .636 and .583, respectively.
Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik lauded the team's passing as a key factor to the efficient night on the attack. That was sparked by libero Ryan Merk, who also led the defensive effort with 11 digs. Kowal contributed to both the passing and back-row defense, as well, racking up seven digs.
Ezeonu joined Valenzi with a pair of aces. Kowal and Matt Cosgrove added one apiece.
Ball State, which was coming off a four-set win over No. 11 Loyola Chicago on Thursday night, was paced by Tinaishe Ndavazocheva and Braydon Savitski-Lynde with nine kills apiece.
Set 1
Snyder's 15 assists helped Penn State hit .324 in a 26-24 win in set one. Valenzi, Kowal and Kerr had four kills apiece. Ball State, which had more than 2,500 fans in attendance, jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead but never led by more than two the rest of the way. Penn State's largest lead came at 21-18 thanks to a 3-0 run that was capped with a kill by Kerr. A kill by Ezeonu gave the Nittany Lions a 24-23 lead, but the Cardinals denied the first chance at set point. The Nittany Lions went up 25-24 on a kill by Valenzi and clinched the opening set with a kill by Kowal.
Set 2
Snyder put up huge numbers in Penn State's 25-22 win in set two, tallying 17 assists while leading the team to .472 hitting. Kerr led the way with five kills, while Rose was perfect on his four attacks. Ezeonu and Valenzi also had four kills. Merk fueled the defense with five digs. Penn State led 15-10 before Ball State battled back to tie it at 17-17. The score was tied again at 20-20. The Nittany Lions then went on a 3-0 run, the final point of which was scored on an ace by Kowal. Ezeonu eventually secured the set win with a kill.
Set 3
Penn State rolled to a 25-19 win in the final set, leading by as much as seven as late as 20-13. Snyder set Rose, who came through with his eighth kill of the night to clinch the win. The Nittany Lions hit .519 behind 15 assists from Snyder. Kowal led the way with five kills.
Career Highs
Matt Cosgrove – aces (1), digs (1)
Luke Snyder – assists (47)
Up Next
Penn State makes the short trip to take on Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday at 7 p.m.
