UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 13 Penn State men’s volleyball opened the 2026 season with a 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 25-18) win over Mount Olive in a non-conference match Friday night at Rec Hall. Nine different players contributed at least one kill as the Nittany Lions used a balanced attack to get the victory.
Owen Rose was named the Mike Anderson Man of the Match for Penn State as he hit .636 with eight kills, six blocks, and one ace. The Nittany Lions were strong in the middle as Gaige Gabriel also had eight kills while hitting .389 and added five digs and four blocks.
Sean Harvey tallied a team-high 13 kills for Penn State, while Miller Trubey joined him in double-digits with 10 kills. The 7-0 junior also showed off his skill at the service line with a 71-mph ace. Matthew Luoma and Carter Dittman contributed four kills apiece, while redshirt freshman Jaidyn Bethel played two sets in his collegiate debut and chipped in with three kills.
Ryan Merk steadied the defensive effort and passing for the Nittany Lions. The redshirt senior libero led the team with nine digs and was a perfect 21-21 on serve receive. Trubey was next on the team with six digs.
Penn State used two setters for two sets apiece. Michael Schwob played the first two sets and finished with 19 assists, four blocks, and two kills. Jaxon Herr took over for the final two sets and turned in 25 assists, one block, one ace, and one kill.
Maksim Kazanov had a big match for Mount Olive in a losing effort, hitting .524 with 13 kills. Matthew Ekberg hit .458 with 12 kills, five blocks, and one ace.
Penn State improved to 12-0 in the all-time series with Mount Olive. All 12 matches were played at Rec Hall.
Set 1
Trubey hit .400 with six kills to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win in the opening set. Dittman and Harvey tacked on four kills apiece. The Nittany Lions were efficient, hitting .389 behind 16 assists from Schwob. Penn State led 21-19 late before scoring four of the final five points to get the win. Dittman and Trubey had kills during that stretch, while Schwob and Rose combined on a block for set point.
Set 2
After racking up 18 kills in the first set, Penn State needed just seven kills to get an identical 25-20 win in the second set. The Nittany Lions scored on five blocks, another five attack errors from Mount Olive, seven service errors by the Trojans, and received an ace from Trubey. The Nittany Lions used a 5-0 run to go up 15-8. Trubey contributed on the final three points of the run with a pair of kills and a block alongside Gabriel. Penn State went on to lead by as much as 11 at 23-12 following an ace by Trubey. Mount Olive fought back to get as close as three at 23-20. The Nittany Lions then scored the final two points on back-to-back kills by Schwob.
Set 3
Kazanov was perfect on the attack with five kills on five swings to lead Mount Olive to a 25-20 win of its own in set three. The Trojans used a 5-0 run to go up 16-10 and went on to lead by as much as eight at 19-11.
Set 4
Penn State closed the match with a 25-18 win in set four with six different players combining for 15 kills. Herr tallied 12 assists as the Nittany Lions hit .444 as a team. Penn State never trailed in the set and led by as much as seven at various points. Harvey led the way, hitting .444 with five kills. Rose was perfect with four kills on four swings.
Career Highs
Jaidyn Bethel – kills (3), digs (2)
Gaige Gabriel – digs (5)
Miller Trubey – digs (6)
Up Next
Penn State hosts Manhattan on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Rec Hall South Gym. It is the inaugural match for the Manhattan men’s volleyball program.