UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State saw its 22-match home winning streak come to an end with a 3-1 (25-15, 20-25, 36-34, 26-24) loss to Charleston in EIVA men’s volleyball action Saturday at Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions fell to 6-14 overall and 3-3 in the EIVA. The Golden Eagles upped their record to 11-12 overall and 5-3 in the conference.
Will Kuhns had a big match for Penn State on Senior Night, hitting .378 with 21 kills, two blocks, and one ace. He was one of three players with double-digit kills, joining Matthew Luoma with 16 and Sean Harvey with a career-high 13. Michael Schwob tallied 50 assists while helping the Nittany Lions hit .316.
Luoma was close to a double-double as he added a career-high eight digs to his 16 kills. Schwob had seven digs, while Harvey and Ryan Merk contributed six digs apiece.
Penn State honored three players for Senior Night following the match. Joining Kuhns were Matt Cosgrove and Cole Ignaszak.
Max Nissen and Kai Cousins led Charleston to its first-ever win over Penn State. Nissen hit .388 with 27 kills, 11 digs, and two aces. Cousins hit .429 with 20 kills, seven digs, and two blocks.
Penn State now leads 20-1 in the all-time series with Charleston.
Set 1
Nissen’s seven kills helped Charleston open the match with a 25-15 win the first set. The Golden Eagles started fast with a 3-0 run and then upped their lead to 7-2. Penn State clawed its way back to within two at 12-10 but only scored three points the rest of the way.
Set 2
Kuhns tallied four kills, while Harvey and Luoma added three apiece to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win in the second set. The Nittany Lions used numerous 3-0 runs to go up 18-9, the last of which was capped with an ace by Luoma. Charleston battled back to get within three at 23-20 before the Nittany Lions closed the set with a kill by Luoma and a Charleston attack error.
Set 3
Charleston won a marathon third set by a 36-34 score to take a 2-1 lead in the match. No one led by more than two points the entire set, which featured 27 ties and nine lead changes. The teams combined for 56 kills with the Golden Eagles totaling 28 and the Nittany Lions tallying 27. Penn State had six chances at set point, while Charleston converted on its sixth chance. Cousins was the big-time performer for the Golden Eagles, hitting .818 with nine kills, while Nissen hit .467 with eight kills. Kuhns hit .615 with nine kills for the Nittany Lions, while Luoma hit .429 with seven kills and Harvey hit .545 with six kills. Schwob had 24 assists in the set as the Nittany Lions hit .522.
Set 4
Penn State looked poised to send the match to five sets as it took a 13-7 lead, but Charleston fought back to end the match with a 26-24 win in the fourth set. The Nittany Lions had that six-point lead following an ace by Gabriel, but just a short time later the Golden Eagles had cut their deficit to two at 14-12. The Nittany Lions still held the lead late, going up 23-21 on a block by Owen Rose and Schwob. The Golden Eagles responded with a 3-0 run to go up 24-23 before a service error tied the match. They then secured the victory with back-to-back kills by Nissen.
Career Highs
Sean Harvey – kills (13), aces (2)
Matthew Luoma – digs (8)
Up Next
Penn State is at Rec Hall’s South Gym for a pair of EIVA matches against Sacred Heart on April 4-5. The Pioneers are 6-13 overall and 0-8 in the conference following a pair of losses to Princeton.