HONOLULU, Hawaii – No. 19 Penn State pushed No. 12 Ball State to five sets but closed the Outrigger Invitational with a 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 25-12, 25-20, 15-10) loss to the Cardinals in a non-conference men’s volleyball match Saturday at Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center.
The Nittany Lions head back to Happy Valley with a record of 5-13 after wrapping up a difficult non-conference schedule that included 10 losses to nationally-ranked opponents. The Cardinals improved to 14-8 overall.
Penn State’s Matthew Luoma showed out on his birthday, finishing with a career-high 19 kills on .350 hitting. That eclipsed his previous career high of 18 kills he had in a three-set win over Saint Francis earlier this season. The redshirt sophomore added four digs and two blocks against the Cardinals.
Will Kuhns and Ryan Merk had repeat performances from the match the day before as both reached double-digits in their respective categories. Kuhns tallied 15 kills one night after hitting .450 with 13 kills against Hawaii. Merk totaled 11 digs after registering 10 against the Rainbow Warriors.
Owen Rose was strong in the middle for the Nittany Lions, hitting .500 with eight kills and four blocks.
Raje Alleyne helped Ball State get the win, hitting .371 with 17 kills in addition to his three aces. The Cardinals had nine aces as a team, including five by Patrick Rogers.
Penn State and Ball State met for the 91st time. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 63-28.
Set 1
Luoma started strong with five kills in the opening set but Penn State had just 10 kills as a team as Ball State won 25-20. The Cardinals’ win was keyed by four aces, including two by Rogers. The Nittany Lions took a 15-12 lead on a kill by Rose only to watch as the Cardinals took control with a 7-0 run. The Nittany Lions didn’t get closer than two the rest of the way.
Set 2
Luoma added five more kills in the second set but this time Penn State came out on top 25-20. Kuhns had three kills, while Carter Dittman, Michael Schwob, and Rose chipped in with two apiece. Merk recorded five of the team’s 10 digs. The Nittany Lions used a 4-0 run to go up 22-17. Rose and Schwob each tallied a kill and two blocks during that stretch. The Nittany Lions capitalized on Ball State miscues down the stretch, scoring the final two points on a service error and an attack error.
Set 3
Ball State hit .500 on its way to a 25-12 win in set three. Alleyne and Braydon Savitski-Lynde had four kills apiece. Cameron Gray helped hold Penn State to .031 hitting with his seven digs.
Set 4
Penn State bounced back strong with a 25-20 win in the fourth set behind five kills from Luoma and four from Kuhns. Schwob tallied 13 assists while leading the team to .476 hitting. The Nittany Lions never trailed in the set, taking the lead for good after a Luoma kill put them up 7-6. The teams did battle close most of the way with Penn State leading by just two at 20-18. The Nittany Lions then went on a 3-0 run with a kill by Rose and back-to-back aces by Miller Trubey. Following a Ball State point, Schwob, Rose, and Sean Harvey combined on a triple block. The Cardinals added one more point but followed it with a service error to close the set.
Set 5
A slow start in the fifth set proved costly for Penn State as Ball State jumped out to a 6-1 lead on its way to a 15-10 win. Rogers proved to be the clutch player for the Cardinals with four kills and a pair of aces.
Career Highs
Carter Dittman – digs (6)
Matthew Luoma – kills (19)
Up Next
It’s nothing but EIVA play for Penn State to close out the regular season, starting with a pair of home matches against Charleston on March 28-29.