FAIRFAX, Va. – The 139th all-time meeting between Penn State and George Mason went down to the wire as the Nittany Lions came back for a 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 18-25, 25-12, 15-13) win in a key EIVA men’s volleyball match Friday night at the Recreation Athletic Complex.
Penn State needed the win to keep its EIVA regular season title hopes alive and got it done to improve to 9-14 overall and 6-3 in the conference. They sit two matches behind Princeton in the standings with three matches to play, but the final two are against the Tigers next week at Rec Hall. George Mason fell to 13-11 overall and 5-4 in the conference.
Just like Sean Harvey did on his birthday last week, Ryan Merk put up big numbers on his birthday Friday. The redshirt junior libero finished with 14 digs and was a perfect 14-14 on serve receptions. He was one of two Nittany Lions with double-digit digs as setter Michael Schwob tallied 11 in addition to 41 assists to record his first-career double-double.
Carter Dittman and Miller Trubey were pivotal in the win while providing a spark off the bench. All five of Dittman’s kills came over the final two sets, while Trubey totaled all seven of his kills over the final three sets, including the final one for match point.
Will Kuhns led Penn State with 11 kills on .292 hitting. He also had two of the team’s four aces, upping his streak to six straight matches with at least one ace. He has 13 aces during that stretch.
Schwob found success setting his middles as Owen Rose and Gaige Gabriel finished with six kills apiece. Rose hit .600 with no errors, while Gabriel hit .455.
George Mason was paced by Liam French with 19 kills and five digs. Jackson Herbert hit .343 with 16 kills and five digs.
Set 1
Matthew Luoma tallied four kills and Sean Harvey was right behind him with three as Penn State edged George Mason 25-23 in the first set. There were 10 ties and five lead changes during the set. Neither team led by more than three. The Nittany lions broke a 20-20 tie with back-to-back kills by Luoma and Harvey to force a George Mason timeout. The teams then traded points with a Penn State service error and a George Mason attack error to put the score at 23-21. Schwob took matters into his own hands with a kill off a pass from Merk to put the Nittany Lions up 24-21. The Patriots scored the next two points before a service error closed the set.
Set 2
This time it was George Mason pulling out a 25-23 win in the second set, which saw the score tied on 13 occasions. The score remained tied or a one-point differential until the Patriots took an 11-9 edge on a kill by Liam French. The Nittany Lions tied the score three different times, including as late as 21-21 on a block by Luoma, but couldn’t get the next point to take the lead. The Patriots followed Luoma’s block with a 3-0 run to force a Penn State timeout. The Nittany Lions came out of the break with back-to-back points on a George Mason service error and an ace by Kuhns. The Patriots took a timeout of their own before clinching the set with a kill by French.
Set 3
French hit .417 with seven kills to lead George Mason to a 25-18 win in set three. The Patriots trailed 10-8 before using a 6-0 run to go up 14-10. They went on to lead by as much as seven multiple times, including the final score after a Penn State attack error notched set point.
Set 4
Dittman, Gabriel, Schwob, and Rose contributed two kills apiece as Penn State rolled to a 25-12 win in the fourth set. The Nittany Lions hit .529 compared to -.045 for the Patriots. The Nittany Lions tallied three blocks, while the Patriots hurt themselves with five additional attack errors. Penn State was also strong from the service line with three aces, receiving one apiece from Dittman, Schwob, and Kuhns.
Set 5
It was only fitting that the final set was close and it delivered with 12 ties and three lead changes before Trubey’s kill secured the 15-13 win for Penn State. The Nittany Lions called timeout down 12-11 following a service error. After a George Mason service error knotted the score at 12-all, Trubey forced a Patriots timeout with a kill to put the Nittany Lions up 13-12. The Patriots then called a second timeout after Rose came through with a clutch block. George Mason stopped Penn State’s first attempt at set point and even stopped Trubey’s first attack of the final rally but couldn’t stop his second chance. His seventh kill of the night gave the Nittany Lions the must-have win.
Career Highs
Carter Dittman – kills (5)
Ryan Merk – assists (6)
Michael Schwob – digs (11)
Up Next
Penn State and George Mason meet for the 140th time in the all-time series when they play at the Recreation Athletic Complex on Saturday at 5 p.m.