UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Owen Rose tallied a program-record 14 blocks to lead Penn State to a 3-0 sweep (25-11, 27-25, 25-15) over Harvard in EIVA men's volleyball action Friday in Rec Hall’s South Gym. The Nittany Lions upped their record to 9-4 overall and 3-0 in the conference with their fifth-straight win, while the Crimson dropped to 2-8, 0-3.
Rose’s 14 blocks broke Penn State’s record of 13 for any scoring era. Kevin Hourican racked up 13 against Rutgers Newark during the side-out scoring era in 1995. Keith Kowal and Nate Meerstein each had 13 blocks during the rally scoring era, with Kowal doing it against Princeton in 2005 and Meerstein against UC Irvine in 2006.
In addition to being in on 14 of the team’s 17 blocks, Rose hit .833 with five kills and contributed three digs. He helped hold Harvard to -.137 hitting. The Crimson were only able to side out at 47 percent for the match.
Penn State only needed 27 kills in the match. The Nittany Lions scored 11 points on aces, including five by Sean Harvey. Gaige Gabriel served for three aces, Michael Schwob had two, and Tristan Hassell chipped in with one.
Harvey tallied the most kills for Penn State in the match with seven, followed by Hassell with six and Gabriel with four.
Zach Berty and Owen Woolbert combined for 10 kills for Harvard.
Set 1
Schwob collected three aces while Penn State’s defense tallied eight blocks in the set to capture the 25-11 win. The Nittany Lions came out hot with two separate 3-0 scoring runs to gain the early 10-7 advantage. Penn State then pulled away in the set with two separate 7-0 scoring runs to jump out to a 17-8 score. The first run was fueled by Rose, who collected four blocks, and Schwob with an ace. After two Harvard points, the Nittany Lions created another 7-0 scoring run to take the set to match point. That run included an ace by Harvey. After its first attempt was unsuccessful, Penn State secured the first set 25-11on a service error.
Set 2
Harvey and Gabriel had two aces apiece and Penn State finished with six as a team on its way to a thrilling 27-25 win in the second set. It was the Crimson who came out hungry early in the set with a slight advantage, 10-8. That was until the Nittany Lions rattled off three straight points, including two aces by Harvey, to take a lead of their own at 11-10. Neither team could establish a strong advantage heading into the middle of the set, with both sides unable to gain more than a two-point lead; the score stood at 17-16 in favor of Harvard. The Nittany Lions then came through late with a 4-0 scoring run that included two aces by Gabriel to retake the lead, 20-19. The teams then traded points once again, heading towards set point with the score tied 24-24. Penn State was denied its first two chances at set point but came through on the third to give them the set two win, 27-25.
Set 3
Four Nittany Lions collected at least two kills to help Penn State pick up the 25-15 win in the third set. The Nittany Lions who came out firing with a 6-0 scoring run from three blocks by Rose to force a 12-6 score. Penn State later added a 3-0 to pull away with a 15-8 lead, with Rose adding another block to his total of 14 in the match. Penn State led the rest of the way until it was Rose who finished off the set with his fifth kill of the night and picked up the 25-15 set win.
Mike Anderson Man of the Match
Owen Rose – Hit .833 with five kills, a school-record 14 blocks, and three digs.
Career Highs
Gaige Gabriel – aces (3)
Sean Harvey – aces (5)
Tristan Hassell – blocks (4)
Owen Rose – blocks (14)
Up Next
Penn State continues its home series against Harvard with a match Saturday at 3 p.m.