UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Will Kuhns recorded his first career double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs to lead No. 20 Penn State to a 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 25-16) win over Merrimack in a non-conference men’s volleyball match Friday night at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions upped their home winning streak to 21 straight matches while improving to 5-8 overall. The Warriors, who were coming off a 3-1 win over Harvard, dropped to 5-4.
Penn State hit .337 behind 33 assists from Michael Schwob. Sean Harvey played the third and fourth sets to help shore up the team’s passing but also provided a spark on the attack with seven kills on .538 hitting. Miller Trubey also finished with seven kills, while Owen Rose and Gaige Gabriel contributed six and five, respectively.
Rose, the EIVA leader in blocks/set, fueled Penn State’s blocking effort. He was in on five of the team’s 12 blocks, including two that were solo efforts. Schwob and Trubey were each in on four blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs by Trubey.
Ryan Merk was a perfect 18-for-18 on serve receptions, running his streak to four straight matches without allowing an ace. The libero tallied three digs and registered his first kill of the season early in the first set.
Kai Vogel provided a bright spot for Merrimack, hitting .379 with 16 kills and a pair of aces.
Set 1
Penn State hit .812 with 13 kills and no errors on 16 attacks while posting a 25-19 win in the opening set. Trubey led the way with five kills on six attacks, while Kuhns was perfect with three kills on his three swings. The Nittany Lions trailed 11-9 before going on a 4-0 run that included a go-ahead ace by Rose. They later used a 3-0 run to go up 16-12 and controlled the rest of the set. Kuhns capped that run with a kill. Merrimack never got closer than three the rest of the set.
Set 2
One set after hitting .812 Penn State was held to .142 hitting in a 25-20 loss in the second set. Vogel totaled five kills for Merrimack, while Logan Whitaker was one behind him with four. The Warriors broke a 17-17 tie with a 3-0 run and didn’t allow the Nittany Lions to get closer than two the rest of the way.
Set 3
Penn State served for three aces and held Merrimack to .000 hitting in a 25-18 win in the third set. Merrimack struggled to get anything going with eight attack errors despite the Nittany Lions recording just one block. The Nittany Lions started to pull away midway through the set, using a 3-0 run to go up 17-12. That run included a kill by Kuhns and an ace by Schwob. They led by as much as seven multiple times, including the final score of the set following a kill by Kuhns.
Set 4
Harvey hit .714 with five kills and two blocks to power Penn State to a 25-16 win in the fourth set. Kuhns and Rose added three kills apiece as the Nittany Lions hit .440 behind 10 assists from Schwob. It was a dominant effort all around as they held Merrimack to .029 thanks to seven blocks. Rose was in on four blocks, including two that were solo. Penn State pulled away early, breaking a 7-7 tie with a 5-0 run. Rose had a kill and a solo block during that stretch. The Nittany Lions were in control the rest of the way before closing the match with a triple block by Schwob, Harvey, and Rose.
Career Highs
Will Kuhns – assists (4), digs (11)
Miller Trubey – blocks (4)
Up Next
No. 20 Penn State heads to Phoenix to play two matches against No. 12 Grand Canyon on March 8-9.