FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Michal Kowal's career-high 25 kills weren't enough as No. 8 Penn State came up just short in a 3-2 (21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 18-25, 20-18) road loss to Purdue Fort Wayne in non-conference men's volleyball action Saturday night at the Gates Sports Center.
The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley with a record of 7-3 after a road trip that included a sweep at No. 15 Ball State. The Mastodons upped their record to 6-3.
Kowal smashed his previous career high of 15 kills, which came last week in a reverse sweep of then-No. 1 Ohio State at Rec Hall. He added three aces, seven digs and one block. The outside hitter kept Penn State alive numerous times in the fifth set while tallying six kills and nine attacks, but Purdue Fort Wayne got the win with the final two points coming on a kill by Bryce Walker and a block by Walker and Andrej Polomac.
Luke Snyder, who was coming off a career-high 46 assists while making his first career start in the sweep at Ball State, passed that total with a new career high of 57 assists while guiding Penn State to .343 hitting. Michael Valenzi finished with 13 kills, while Owen Rose matched his career high with 11 kills. Toby Ezeonu had nine on .467 hitting.
The career highs weren't limited to the offense as Ryan Merk finished with a career-best 15 digs for the Nittany Lions. That topped his previous best of 14 in a five-set win over Lewis earlier this season.
Purdue Fort Wayne countered Penn State's solid night on the attack by hitting .344 behind 48 assists from Polomac. The Mastodons followed a .182 hitting mark in the opening set by hitting at a .522 clip in the second set.
Set 1
Penn State started strong, jumping out to a 12-6 lead on its way to a 25-21 win in the opening set. Snyder had 14 assists as the Nittany Lions hit .367. Kowal led the way with four kills, while Valenzi and Kuhns added three apiece. The three kills by Kuhns came on three swings.
Set 2
Penn State started fast again in set two with an 11-6 lead, but this time Purdue Fort Wayne responded. The Mastodons chipped away at their deficit until tying the match at 22-22. The Nittany Lions regained the lead on a Kowal kill. The Mastodons scored the next two points but had their first chance at set point denied. Mark Frazier came through with a kill on their second chance to win the set and tie the match.
Set 3
Purdue Fort Wayne won another close set 25-23 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Neither team led by more than two points the entire set. Penn State led 22-20 following a Kowal kill and a Purdue Fort Wayne attack error. The Mastodons responded with a 4-0 run to go up 24-22. Valenzi ended the run with a kill, but the set was then won on a kill by Frazier.
Set 4
Valenzi hit .625 with five kills and Kowal added four kills as Penn State rolled to a 25-18 win in the fourth set. The Nittany Lions pulled away early with a pair of 3-0 runs, the second of which made the score 13-6. They kept near that lead the rest of the way. Eventually, a Valenzi kill made it 24-17. Following a Purdue Fort Wayne point, the Mastodons had a service error to give the set win to Penn State.
Set 5
Penn State led 8-5 as the teams switched sides, but Purdue Fort Wayne fought back to force extra volleyball. The Nittany Lions still led 13-11 after a Valenzi kill. The Mastodons went on a 3-0 run to go up 14-13. They had their first five chances at match point stopped by the Nittany Lions. Kowal had kills to stop three of those attempts at match point. Walker put the Mastodons up 19-18 with a kill, and then combined with Polomac on a block to finish off the upset.
Up Next
Penn State hosts Fairleigh Dickinson in Rec Hall South Gym on Saturday at 4 p.m.
