COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 17 Penn State Men’s Volleyball wrapped up play at the Big Ten Challenge with a 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 25-15) loss to No. 6 USC on Saturday at Ohio State’s Covelli Center.
The Nittany Lions’ challenging schedule to open the season continued as they fell to 0-6 with all six losses coming to nationally-ranked opponents. Their next two matches are against EIVA for Harvard, which is currently ranked 19th. The Trojans remained unbeaten at 8-0.
Despite the loss, Penn State may have found its groove offensively at a good time with conference play just around the corner. The Nittany Lions hit a season-best .318 behind 43 assists from Michael Schwob. Multiple players had breakout performances with Matthew Luoma totaling a career-high 14 kills on .290 hitting and Gaige Gabriel registering a career-high nine kills on .467 hitting.
Graduate outside hitter Will Kuhns continued to be a consistent presence for Penn State as his 12 kills gave him double-digits in five of the first six matches. He was voted to the all-tournament team after finishing with 23 kills over two matches.
Schwob had his best match of the season. In addition to running the team’s attack to a successful night, he added eight digs, five kills, one ace, and one solo block. Other notable performances included Owen Rose with seven kills on .417 hitting and Sean Harvey with five kills.
While Kuhns was the veteran presence offensively for the Nittany Lions, it was Ryan Merk doing the same for the team’s defensive effort. He reached double-digits with 10 digs and was 23-for-23 on serve receive.
USC was led by Dillon Klein, who was dominant for the second-consecutive match at the event. The junior outside hitter hit .565 with 14 kills. That came one day after he hit .700 with 22 kills in a four-set win over Ohio State. The Buckeyes also received 14 kills from Noah Roberts.
Set 1
Klein was strong from the start with six kills on seven attacks to lead USC to a 25-22 win in the opening set. That was enough to overcome four kills on five attacks by Luoma. Both teams were efficient in the first set, with USC hitting .536 and Penn State hitting .407. The teams battled to a 19-19 tie before the Trojans scored back-to-back points on a kill by Guy Genis and a block by Genis and Roberts. The Nittany Lions countered with a kill by Schwob, only to see USC again score consecutive points and take a 23-20 lead. The Trojans eventually secured set point on a kill by Roberts.
Set 2
Penn State hit .303 behind 12 assists from Schwob as it took the second set 25-21. Luoma had five kills, while Gabriel tallied four on .800 hitting. The Nittany Lions took the lead for good midway through the set with a 3-0 run that put them up 13-11. Luoma and Rose keyed the run with each tallying a kill and combining with Kuhns on a triple block. They later used another 3-0 run to go up 20-15. That run was fueled by kills from Schwob, Gabriel, and Luoma. USC only got as close as three the rest of the way and that wasn’t until 24-21. A service error closed the set.
Set 3
Penn State was solid offensively in the third set, hitting at a .333 clip, but couldn’t slow down USC’s attack. The Trojans hit .615 with 16 kills, five of which came from Roberts. Despite the disparity in efficiency, the score was still close at 21-20 following a kill by Luoma. The Trojans then scored four of the final five points, including a block by Roberts and Markus Olsson for set point.
Set 4
USC poured it on the final set with a 25-15 win after hitting .462 with 16 kills. Klein and Sterling Foley led the way with four apiece. Roberts chipped in with three kills and a pair of aces.
Career Highs
Gaige Gabriel – kills (9), assists (1)
Sean Harvey – assists (3), digs (5)
Matthew Luoma - kills (14)
Michael Schwob – kills (5)
Up Next
No. 17 Penn State opens EIVA play with a pair of matches at No. 19 Harvard. The teams play on Friday at 7 p.m., and again on Saturday at 6 p.m.