PRINCETON, N.J. – Sean Harvey finished with a career-high 22 kills, while Gaige Gabriel took care of the defensive effort with a career-high 10 blocks as No. 15 Penn State men’s volleyball held on for a 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 22-25, 15-11) win over Princeton in the Nittany Lions’ EIVA opener Friday at Dillon Gymnasium.
Penn State improved to 7-4 overall and 1-0 in the conference, winning in the same gym it reeled off three-straight sweeps to take the EIVA Tournament crown last season. Princeton, the defending regular season champion in the EIVA, fell to 2-5 overall and 0-2 league play.
Harvey hit .325 for the match while easily eclipsing his previous career high of 18 kills in a win over Sacred Heart last season. He was one of numerous players to put up personal-best numbers. Gabriel’s 10 blocks passed the nine he had in a five-set win over George Mason last season, while Jaidyn Bethel posted career-best marks with 11 kills and six blocks. Tristan Hassell served for a career-high two aces, while adding 11 kills on .364 hitting.
Gabriel, who was also strong on the attack with seven kills on .417 hitting, put up the proverbial wall in the fifth set with three blocks in the race to 15 points. Penn State racked up 16 blocks in the match. Owen Rose was in on five and added one ace, giving him a team-best 14 aces on the season. Harvey and Matthew Luoma tallied four blocks apiece. Luoma was also one of four players in double-digits with his 11 kills.
Ryan Merk totaled 13 digs in the win and made it three-consecutive matches without allowing an ace as he went unblemished on his 17 serve receptions. Only three different players have managed an ace on Merk through the team’s 11 matches this season.
Ambrose Engling was solid for Princeton, hitting .323 with 13 kills. Owen Mellon hit .286 with a team-high 16 kills.
Set 1
Penn State held Princeton to -.038 hitting on its way to a 25-19 win in the opening set. The Nittany Lions used a 4-0 run to break a 5-5 tie and held the lead the rest of the way. Bethel contributed to the first three points of the run, starting it with a kill before joining Rose on a block and then Rose and Luoma on a triple block. The Tigers got as close as two at 14-12 but lost momentum with an attack out of bounds. They got back within two at 15-13 and 16-14, but Penn State responded with kills by Gabriel and Luoma. Hassell eventually scored match point with a kill off a set by Michael Schwob.
Set 2
Harvey had four kills and no errors on his five swings to lead Penn State to a 25-22 win in the second set. Luoma added four kills, while Gabriel was in on three blocks. The teams played close for most of the set and were tied as late as 21-21 after a 3-0 run by Princeton. The Nittany Lions responded with a 3-0 run of their own to go up 24-21. It started with a triple block by Luoma, Gabriel, and Jaxon Herr and continued with a kill by Bethel. Luoma then tacked on a kill following a timeout by the Tigers. Princeton stopped Penn State’s first chance at set point with a kill by Andrew Werner but followed it with a set-ending service error.
Set 3
Penn State came up short with a 25-23 loss in the third set despite hitting .361. Harvey hit .556 with six kills himself, while Princeton countered with eight kills on .533 hitting from Engling. The Nittany Lions called timeout trailing 21-15 and came out of the break with a 4-0 run that included two kills by Harvey and a kill and an ace by Hassell. They later got within one at 23-22 after scoring back-to-back points on kills by Harvey and Bethel. They closed the gap to one point one last time at 24-23 following a kill by Hassell, but Mellon then sealed the set with a kill.
Set 4
Mellon totaled four kills, one block, and an ace to help Princeton stay alive with a 25-22 win in the fourth set. The Tigers broke a 16-16 tie with a 3-0 run and led the rest of the way. The Nittany Lions only got as close as two the rest of the set.
Set 5
Penn State used a 6-0 run to go up 9-3 and never looked back on its way to a 15-11 win in the fifth set. The big run had Gabriel’s fingerprints all over it as he tallied a kill and three blocks during that stretch. The Nittany Lions led by as much as seven at 12-5 after scoring back-to-back points on a Princeton service error and an ace by Hassell. Trailing 14-7, Princeton made one last comeback attempt with four straight points before Harvey closed the match with his 22nd kill.
Career Highs
Jaidyn Bethel – kills (11), assists (2), blocks (6)
Gaige Gabriel – blocks (10)
Sean Harvey – kills (22)
Tristan Hassell – aces (2)
Bennett Wilson – digs (2)
Up Next
Penn State and Princeton finish the weekend series at Dillon Gymnasium with a match on Saturday at 4 p.m.