UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A balanced attack helped lead No. 16 Penn State men’s volleyball to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-19) sweep over Merrimack in a non-conference match Friday at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions are 11-4 overall, while the Warriors fell to 4-9.
Tristan Hassell, Owen Rose, and Matthew Luoma all tied for the team lead with six kills, while also all hitting over .400 for the match. Following the trio, Bennett Wilson and Gaige Gabriel each collected four kills, while Kyle Fagan collected the first two kills of his collegiate career.
The Nittany Lions had a strong night defensively with four different players collecting at least four digs. Ryan Merk led the effort with a team-high eight, followed by Jaxon Herr with five, then Gabriel and Luoma with four each.
Dallas Birkenbeuel paced Merrimack with 12 kills and three digs.
Penn State improved to 3-0 in the all-time series with Merrimack.
Set 1
Schwob guided the Nittany Lions to a .440 hitting percentage to help Penn State cruise to the 25-13 set win. The Nittany Lions came out hot with two separate scoring runs to gain the early 10-3 advantage. The first was a 4-0 run with two kills and a block by Rose, while the second, a 5-0 run, saw Luoma pick up two kills. Penn State then added on with three straight points to grow a 10-point lead, 17-7. At 22-13, Penn State rallied off a 3-0 run that included two kills by Wilson before Rose delivered the final blow to give them the 25-13 win. Luoma and Rose combined for eight kills while both hitting over .500 in the first.
Set 2
Penn State survived a late comeback by Merrimack to capture the 25-19 set win in the second set. The Nittany Lions once again came out hot to start the set to force a 12-5 score early. The lead was generated from two different 3-0 scoring runs in which Rose totaled two kills and two blocks across both. Penn State continued to grow on its lead as Luoma, Wilson, and Gabriel picked up kills to grow a nine-point lead and jump out to an 18-9 score. That was until Merrimack later generated a 3-0 scoring run to cut the lead down to six, 21-15. The wave of momentum continued for the Warriors, cutting down the Penn State advantage to four and making it a 23-19 score. The comeback fell short as a service error followed by an attack error by the Warriors gave Penn State the set win, 25-19.
Set 3
Hassell picks up six kills on .625 hitting to give Penn State the 25-19 set win. Unlike the first two sets, it was the Warriors who came out swinging first, grabbing the early 10-6 lead. Just as quickly, the Merrimack lead disappeared with a 6-0 scoring run by Penn State to grab a lead of its own, 12-10. The run included a kill by Fagan and an ace by Zach Stowe. The kill by Fagan marked the first of his collegiate career. After some back-and-forth action, the Nittany Lions extended their lead to four points to show a 17-13 score. The lead held strong towards the end of the set before an attack error by Merrimack brought Penn State to match point. After their first attempt at set point was unsuccessful, a service error by the Warriors gave the Nittany Lions the win, 25-19.
Career Highs
Kyle Fagan – kills (2), assists (1)
Bennett Wilson – kills (4), assists (1), digs (3), blocks (1)
Up Next
Penn State heads west for spring break. The Nittany Lions play No. 2 Long Beach State on March 7, No. 7 Pepperdine on March 11, and No. 5 USC on March 14.