CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 17 Penn State Men’s Volleyball dropped its EIVA opener with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-19) defeat to Harvard on Friday at the Malkin Athletic Center.
The Nittany Lions dropped to 0-7 overall as their 38-match EIVA regular season winning streak came to an end. The Crimson improved to 3-4.
Eight different Penn State players had at least one kill in the match, led by Matthew Luoma with seven. Will Kuhns was right behind him with six kills, while Matt Cosgrove and Gaige Gabriel chipped in with five apiece.
Cosgrove was solid off the bench as his five kills came on .556 hitting. He added two blocks, four digs, and the team’s lone ace.
Harvard was held to .190 hitting but it was enough to get the sweep. Sawyer Nichols led all players with 10 kills. The Crimson were strong from the service line with seven aces, led by Zach Berty with three.
Set 1
Penn State held Harvard to .067 but the Crimson still pulled out the win with a 25-21 score in the opening set. The Nittany Lions led 15-13 after a kill by Luoma, but the Crimson responded with a 4-0 run to go up 17-15. That was the start of a 12-6 advantage for the Crimson to end the set. The final point was scored on a kill by Owen Fanning.
Set 2
Cosgrove started the second set and tallied three kills on four swings, but it wasn’t enough as Harvard took the set 25-22. Despite trailing by five at one point, Penn State got within two at 20-18 thanks to an ace by Cosgrove that capped a 3-0 run. Harvard scored the next two points to slow down the comeback attempt and went on to win by three. It was Fanning again with a kill for set point.
Set 3
Harvard started the third set with a 4-0 run and never trailed as it went on to clinch the match with a 25-19 win. Miha Okorn had four kills in the set for the Crimson, while Kuhns led Penn State with four kills. Fanning again contributed on set point, combining with James Bardin on a block.
Career Highs
Josh Rosenblum – assists (13), digs (1)
Up Next
Penn State and Harvard meet for round two on Saturday at 5 p.m.