UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State men’s volleyball is headed to the EIVA Championship match thanks to a 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-16, 22-25, 15-8) win over Charleston in the semifinal round Friday at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions won their 10th-consecutive match, including the past five in five sets, to improve to 21-7 overall. The Golden Eagles closed the season at 14-15.
The Nittany Lions now turn their attention to Princeton in the championship match as they look to win the EIVA Tournament title for the fourth-consecutive season. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday at Rec Hall and will stream free of charge on B1G+.
Penn State had a trio of players with 10 or more kills. Sean Harvey led Penn State in kills with 19 on .567 hitting while adding seven digs and an ace. Tristan Hassell followed behind with 16 kills on .448 hitting to go along with three blocks. Owen Rose rounded out the trio with 10 kills, five blocks, and an ace.
Penn State was strong from the service line as it finished with eight aces. Bennett Wilson led the way with three, while Gaige Gabriel tallied two. Jaxon Herr guided Penn State to a .375 hit percentage in the match with 39 assists as he started the final three sets at setter.
Lucas Torres tallied 22 kills on .385 hitting, two aces, and three blocks for Charleston.
Set 1
Lucas Torres and Samuel Alo each collected five kills to help Charleston take the first set 25-20. Penn State started hot with a 4-0 scoring run that featured a block and kill by both Gabriel and Wilson to force a 6-3 score. The Golden Eagles immediately rallied with four straight of their own to retake the lead 7-6. The teams then traded points until the score was tied at 15-15. Charleston went right back on the attack and generated a 4-0 scoring run to grab a four-point lead, 19-15. The Nittany Lions tried to claw back against the lead but were unable to cut the deficit as the Golden Eagles took set one 25-20.
Set 2
Harvey, Gabriel, and Hassell combined for 12 kills to lead Penn State to the 25-19 win in the second set. Herr collected nine assists to lead the Nittany Lions to .545 hitting. Penn State took its first lead of the set at 12-10 following a 3-0 run. They later added a 4-0 run to take a four-point lead at 17-13. The run featured kills by Hassell and Gabriel. Penn State led comfortably the rest of the way. Gabriel finished with four kills on four swings.
Set 3
Owen Rose hit .714 with five kills to lead Penn State to the 25-16 win in the third set. The Nittany Lions controlled the set from the start, jumping out to a 5-1 lead from a 3-0 scoring run early. Penn State then added on with a 5-0 scoring run that included two kills by Rose and an ace by Gabriel to push the score to a 13-5 lead. Charleston tried to fight back late with a 3-0 scoring run, but Penn State immediately responded with a 3-0 scoring run to retake the eight-point lead, 20-12. Hassell added two kills late before a kill by Rose closed out the set for the Nittany Lions, 25-16. Herr collected nine assists while guiding Penn State to .500 hitting.
Set 4
Charleston survived a late comeback by Penn State to capture the 25-22 win in the fourth set. The Golden Eagles led late at 24-19 before the Nittany Lions started to fight back with three straights, but the run came too late as a kill by Torres gave Charleston the set. Harvey tallied eight kills on .538 hitting for the Nittany Lions.
Set 5
Hassell and Rose combined for five kills to give Penn State the 15-8 win in the fifth set and capture the match 3-2. Both teams traded points to start the set, but then Penn State quickly grabbed the advantage off a 4-0 scoring run to force a 9-4 score. The run featured kills by Rose and Hassell. The Nittany Lions' lead held strong the rest of the way and ballooned up to six points at set point, 14-8, before a kill by Rose closed the set and the match for Penn State.
Career Highs
Bennett Wilson – aces (3)
Up Next
Penn State takes on Princeton for the EIVA Championship on Saturday at 7 p.m. inside Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions will look for their 38th EIVA Tournament title and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.