The men’s volleyball team finally got off the schneid on Friday night, beating Mount Olive in straight sets to claim their first victory in seven games to start off the season.

How It Happened

Penn State was mostly dominant throughout the game, as the three consecutive set victories might indicate. The first set was tied 7-7 and the Penn State lead was cut to as few as 2, but the Nittany Lions won the first set by a comfortable 25-18 margin. Penn State jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the second set and didn’t look back, as they took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-11 second set win. The Lions were up 4-3 in the third set, but back-to-back kills from sophomore Chris Nugent (more on him a little later) jump-started a 9-1 run that gave Penn State a lead they would not relinquish en route to a blowout 25-10 final set victory to wrap up a straight set victory for Penn State.

Player of the Match

Sophomore Chris Nugent had a match-high 16 kills on .500 hitting with three aces, five digs, and two blocks in what was a career-best effort. Nugent was awarded Mike Anderson Player of the Match honors for last night’s contest as well. Nugent, along with redshirt senior Nick Goodell, was one of only two players to reach double-digits kills for the match.

Match Notes

• Penn State moves to 1-6 on the season with this win
• Mount Olive dropped to 3-3 on the year
• The only lead change of the match occurred in the third set
• Chris Nugent led all scorers with 20 points, just four fewer than the 24 points Mount Olive managed all evening

What’s Next?

Penn State plays again tonight, hosting Saint Francis in the 2015 EIVA conference opener at 8 p.m. in the main gym. Both head coaches will be wearing fedoras to support Penn State’s EIVA Rallies night. There will be a silent auction on the west mezzanine level of Rec Hall, with all of this set to benefit the Memorial Sloan Kettering Center, one of the largest and oldest private cancer centers.

Photo: Mark Selders