UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State made the most of its first match at Rec Hall in nearly a month, rolling to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-21) win over Charleston in an EIVA men’s volleyball match Friday night. The Nittany Lions improved to 6-13 overall and 3-2 in the conference, while the Golden Eagles dropped to 10-12, 4-3.
Freshman Gaige Gabriel was strong both offensively and defensively for Penn State. He was perfect on the attack with seven kills on seven swings and was tops on the team with five blocks. Another young player, redshirt freshman Sean Harvey, made an impact with eight kills on .538 hitting.
Michael Schwob guided the Penn State attack to .370 hitting with his 32 assists. Matthew Luoma finished with a team-high 11 kills and was in on three blocks. Will Kuhns was also in on three blocks and contributed seven kills and three aces. Charleston finished with just one block.
Charleston mostly avoided Penn State libero Ryan Merk in the service game, sending just seven of its 47 serves in play to the redshirt junior. He was still able to make an impact with his match-high nine digs while helping hold the Golden Eagles to .231 hitting.
Max Nissen paced the Golden Eagles with 13 kills and six digs. Korben Phillips made the most of his opportunities with four kills on for attacks.
Penn State improved to 20-0 in the all-time series with Charleston.
The Nittany Lions played at Rec Hall for just the third time this season, equaling the amount of matches they have played at Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center.
Set 1
Penn State needed just eight kills to get a 25-22 win in the opening set. The Nittany Lions were able to score points on four blocks, five additional Charleston attack errors and seven service errors by the Golden Eagles. Penn State used a 5-0 run to go up 10-5. The Golden Eagles were still close at 16-14 before the Nittany Lions distanced themselves with a 3-0 run that started with a kill by Luoma and finished with back-to-back Charleston attack errors. The Golden Eagles got within two at 23-21 and 24-22 before ending the set with a service error.
Set 2
Gabriel had four kills on four swings to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win in the second set. The Nittany Lions hit .450 behind 10 assists from Schwob. They broke a 16-16 tie with a kill by Kuhns that was followed by a clutch Schwob ace and led the rest of the way. Charleston got within one at 18-17 only to see Penn State respond with a 3-0 run that started with a kill by Gabriel and was capped with an ace by Kuhns to put the Nittany Lions up 21-17. Set point was eventually scored on a kill by Luoma.
Set 3
Penn State saved its best attack for the final set as it hit .560 behind 16 kills from Schwob in a 25-21 win. Harvey had four kills on four swings, while Gabriel converted both of his attacks into kills. Luoma and Kuhns racked up five kills apiece. It was a close battle midway through the set before Kuhns came through with back-to-back aces to put Penn State up 18-14. The Nittany Lions led by at least three points the rest of the way. Match point was eventually scored on a kill by Kuhns.
Career Highs
Sean Harvey – kills (8)
Up Next
Penn State and Charleston are back at Rec Hall for another match Saturday at 3 p.m. It is Senior Day for the Nittany Lions. Matt Cosgrove, Cole Ignaszak, and Will Kuhns will be honored following the match.