Penn State claimed their twelfth straight Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) championship last night with a sweep of Princeton (30-28, 30-27, 30-13). With this win, the Nittany Lions now earn an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament, which is being held in Stanford, California.

Early on in the match, it was not so clear that Penn State would win the championship. In set one, Princeton took a lead and eventually led by as much as five at 14-9. However, Penn State battled back to eventually tie at 20. After trading the next few points, Penn State took the lead and eventually won the set 30-28.

Set two was almost the exact opposite from the first. Penn State led early and led by as much as five at 15-10. It was Princeton’s turn to rally back to eventually tie it at 19. The teams would trade points until Penn State took the lead at 26-25, and the Nittany Lions went on to win the set 30-27.

Penn State played its best volleyball in the third set. The Nittany Lions won the first five points of the set and never looked back. Both their attack and block got going and Penn State won the third set 30-13. After the match, Penn State’s Edgardo Goas and Max Lipsitz were named to the all-tournament team along with Joe Sunder, who also won the Most Outstanding Player award for the tournament.

Penn State will now  play in the NCAA semifinals along with Ohio State and two other teams. The draw for the semifinals will be announced on Sunday at 2 p.m. Penn State will then try to earn its third national championship starting on Thursday, May 6.

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