PHOENIX, Ariz. – No. 19 Penn State opened its spring break trip with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-22) loss to No. 15 Grand Canyon in non-conference men’s volleyball action Saturday night at Global Credit Union Arena.
The Nittany Lions dropped to 5-9 overall with seven of those losses coming to nationally-ranked teams. The Antelopes improved to 10-5.
Sean Harvey and Miller Trubey led Penn State with seven kills apiece. Trubey also had one of the team’s two aces. The other came from Matt Cosgrove.
Trent Moser hit .381 with 11 kills and six digs to lead Grand Canyon to the sweep. The Antelopes racked up eight aces, including three apiece by Karter Rogers and Jarrett Anderson.
Penn State and Grand Canyon played for just the third time in program history. It was the first match between the teams played in Phoenix.
Through two months of the season, the Nittany Lions have played matches in Illinois, Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Arizona.
Set 1
Moser, Anderson, and Trevell Jordan had three kills apiece to lead Grand Canyon to a 25-15 win in the first set. The Antelopes pulled away early, going up 11-5 after a 3-0 run that included a pair of kills and a block by Jordan. They went on to lead by as much as 11 at 24-13 following an ace by Moser. Set point was scored on a Penn State attack error.
Set 2
Penn State was held to -.100 hitting as Grand Canyon rolled to a 25-12 win in the second set. Rogers led the way for the Antelopes with four kills and one ace.
Set 3
Trubey hit .500 with five kills for Penn State, but Grand Canyon countered with five kills apiece from Moser and Jordan as the Antelopes closed the match with a 25-22 win in the third set. The Nittany Lions took a 15-14 lead into the media timeout thanks to a kill by Trubey and still led by one at 16-15 after a kill by Harvey. Things fell apart for the Nittany Lions from there as Grand Canyon went on a 7-0 run to take a 22-16 lead. With the Antelopes up 24-19, the Nittany Lions stopped the first three chances at match point with kills by Cosgrove, Harvey, and Gaige Gabriel. The Antelopes halted the run with a kill by Anderson to secure the sweep.
Career Highs
Josh Rosenblum – kills (2), digs (4)
Up Next
Penn State and Grand Canyon are back at Global Credit Union Arena for another match on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.