UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State used a balanced attack to get a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-20) sweep over visiting Sacred Heart in EIVA men’s volleyball action Friday night at Rec Hall’s South Gym. The Nittany Lions improved to 7-14 overall and now have a winning record in the conference at 4-3. The Pioneers dropped to 6-14, 0-9.
Five Penn State players finished with at least five kills, led by Sean Harvey with 11 on .333 hitting in addition to six digs, three blocks, and one ace. Will Kuhns hit .385 with seven kills, seven digs and a team-high three aces. Owen Rose and Matthew Luoma tallied six kills apiece, while Gaige Gabriel was right behind them with five.
Michael Schwob led the Nittany Lions to .300 hitting with his 27 assists. He also had seven digs and served for one of the team’s six aces.
Penn State totaled seven blocks and held Sacred Heart to .174 hitting. Aleksa Mandic was the top player for the Pioneers with 18 kills on .394 hitting.
Set 1
Penn State shook off seven kills on .600 hitting by Mandic to get a 25-22 win in the opening set. The rest of the Sacred Heart lineup combined for just four kills. The Nittany Lions led big at 19-14 following a kill by Kuhns, but the Pioneers fought back to within one at 20-19 and still trailed by just two at 22-20 after a kill by Mandic. Harvey and Rose followed with kills to give the Nittany Lions a cushion at 24-20. The Pioneers stopped the first two chances at set point before Schwob set Harvey for the final kill.
Set 2
Four Penn State players had at least two kills, including Gabriel with three on three attacks, as the Nittany Lions took the second set 25-19. Penn State trailed 10-7 before going on a 6-0 run to take a 13-10 advantage. Gabriel had two kills and a block during that stretch, while Kuhns tallied an ace. The Nittany Lions led the rest of the way, fueled by a 3-0 run to go up 19-13 and another 3-0 run to close the set. The second run was capped by a solo block by Harvey for set point.
Set 3
Harvey hit .364 with five kills, four digs, and one block to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win in set three. The Nittany Lions had four aces in the set, including two by Kuhns. It was a close battle for most of the set as Penn State led by just one at 18-17 following a kill by Mandic. The Nittany Lions went up 21-17 with a 3-0 run that was capped with a triple block by Rose, Luoma, and Harvey. They later added another triple block, this time by Schwob, Rose, and Kuhns, to go up 24-19. Following a service error, the Nittany Lions put away the match with a kill by Kuhns.
Career Highs
None
Up Next
Penn State and Sacred Heart are back in South Gym for a match on Saturday at 3 p.m.