UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men’s volleyball stayed unbeaten in the EIVA with a 3-0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-20) sweep over Charleston on Saturday at the Wehrle Innovation Center. The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley at 16-7 overall and 8-0 in the conference, while the Golden Eagles sit at 13-12, 4-6.
The Nittany Lions have a two-match lead over George Mason with four EIVA matches left on the schedule. The two teams are scheduled to square off against each other at Rec Hall in the final weekend of the regular season.
Sean Harvey led Penn State to the sweep over Charleston, hitting .448 with 16 kills, while Matthew Luoma was right behind him with 15 kills on .321 hitting. The team hit .313 behind 29 assists from Michael Schwob.
Penn State was strong from the service line as it finished with eight aces. Rose and Harvey led the way with three apiece, while Bennett Wilson contributed two. Rose now leads the team with 27 aces, which is 10 more than he had in any of his previous three collegiate seasons.
Conrad Spidso had a solid match for Charleston, hitting .333 with 14 kills, two blocks, and five digs.
Penn State improved to 22-1 in the all-time series with Charleston.
Set 1
It was all Harvey in set one as he hit .615 with eight kills, one block, and one ace to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win. The set was closely contested for most of the way, with the Nittany Lions leading by just one at 21-20 following a kill by Charleston’s Samuel Alo. But they were too much for the Golden Eagles down the stretch, using a 4-0 run to close the set. Rose started the run with a kill, followed it with a block alongside Harvey, and then tacked on a solo block. Harvey followed with his eighth kill for set point.
Set 2
Luoma hit .667 with seven kills and Harvey tacked on another five in addition to a pair of aces to help Penn State win a hard-fought set two, 28-26. The set featured 21 ties and seven lead changes. Charleston led by as much as three at 11-8 following an ace by Marton Zarka and went on to lead as late as 19-18. The only time the entire set that Penn State led by two was after scoring match point. That came on a kill by Luoma.
Set 3
Luoma added six more kills in the third set to lead Penn State to a 25-20 win and the sweep. In a complete contrast from set two, the score was tied just once and there were zero lead changes. Charleston’s only lead came on a service error to start the set. Penn State went up 2-1 on a service error and led the rest of the way. The Nittany Lions led by as much as seven at 22-15 and again at 23-16, both after miscues by Charleston. Match point was eventually scored on a kill by Luoma.
Up Next
Penn State is back on the road for EIVA play when it travels to play matches at Sacred Heart on April 10-11.