No. 9 Penn State men’s volleyball (8-3) defeated Fairleigh Dickinson (6-3) 3-1 in Rec Hall Saturday afternoon. The absence of John Kerr, Michael Valenzi, and Tony Ezeonu was no problem for Penn State as it flexed depth all match long. 

After a career-high 25 kills last week against Purdue Fort Wayne and being named EIVA Offensive Player of the Week, Michal Kowal continued his hot streak as he led the Nittany Lions with 24 kills and one error while hitting an impressive .679. Freshman Carter Dittman and Zach Stowe posted impressive performances as well.

How It Happened

Farleigh Dickinson took the first point of the match off a kill by Santiago La Jara, but true freshman Zach Stowe struck back for Penn State. Will Kuhns then got a kill for the Nittany Lions, but this time, La Jara struck back for the Knights.

Seven of the next nine points were decided by errors that resulted in a 7-6 lead for Penn State. The teams continued the back-and-forth play for the next five scores as kills by Matt Cosgrove and Michal Kowal and multiple errors tied the set at 10-10. Both teams then exchanged kills, but two errors by Jamal Ellis Carballo gave Penn State a one-point lead.

However, a kill by Mihajlo Rodic tied the set back up at 13-13. Kowal got the lead back for the Nittany Lions with a kill, and an attack error on Lydon extended the lead to two. Penn State then extended the run to four with an error on Ellis Carballo and a three-man block by Kowal, Cosgrove, and Stowe.

TRIPLE BLOCK from Kowal, Stowe and Cosgrove! Its a 4-0 Penn State Run! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/BrOpuRPcN7

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) February 10, 2024

Farleigh Dickinson called a timeout to pause the run, but Cosgrove started things back up with a kill after the break to make it 18-13 Penn State. Ellis Carballo and Lydon earned kills for the Knights, but a Kowal kill and an Ellis Carballo service error made it 20-15 Penn State. Farleigh Dickinson went on a 3-1 run to make it 21-18 but kills by Kowal and Kuhns put the Nittany Lions within two of the first set.

Two Knight service errors then gave Penn State the first set 25-21.

Penn State started the second set with a kill by Stowe. Lydon got the point back for the Knights, but it was all Stowe as he recorded a kill and an ace for the Nittany Lions to make it 3-1. Kuhns tallied a kill but two service errors and a double-team block by La Jara and Ethan Young tied the set at 4-4. Service errors by both teams and a run of kills tied the set again at 7-7.

Attack errors on Luke Snyder and Cosgrove gave the Knights the 9-7 lead and caused Mark Pavlik to use his first timeout. The teams exchanged the next four points to keep the Knights’ lead at two until Owen Rose and Cosgrove teamed up for a block and Ellis Carballo committed a service error to tie it at 11-11. Two Penn State errors then gave the two-point lead back to Farleigh Dickinson.

The Knights maintained their two-point gap as both teams alternated the next eight scores. Penn State tied the set back up off of two Knight errors, then both teams kept sharing the lead until the Knights regained its original two-point lead with a kill by La Jara and a block to make it 21-19.

Penn State used its second timeout as Cosgrove tallied a block after the break. Young struck back for the Knights and Stowe returned the favor for the Nittany Lions to make it a one-point game. An attack error on Young forced a Farleigh Dickinson timeout as it tied the set at 22-22.

Snyder tallied an ace to give the Nittany Lions the lead, but the Knights tied it back up with a kill by Ellis Carballo. Young then committed a service error and Kuhns committed an attack error to force overtime. The teams went deep into overtime as both squads wouldn’t give an inch in an electric South Gym.

A kill by La Jara gave the Knights a 26-25 lead, but the Nittany Lions roared back with a Kowal kill and a Farleigh Dickinson error that forced another Knights timeout. Following the break, Kuhns botched the serve, and a kill by La Jara gave Farleigh Dickinson the advantage, but it didn’t last as an error tied the set at 29-29. Penn State had the advantage again off an attack error, but a Rose service error knotted it back up.

Kowal gave the Nittany Lions the advantage again but Young retaliated. At 32-32, a Kuhns attack error returned the advantage Farleigh Dickinson’s way, and a Cosgrove attack error sealed the extensive second set for the Knights at 34-32.

The third set began with a Rodic kill until Penn State scored two straight off a Kuhns kill and a Rose and Kuhns block. Farleigh Dickinson knotted the set but errors on La Jara and Lydon gave the Nittany Lions a two-score lead.  

Penn State extended its lead to three with back-to-back kills by Cosgrove and Kowal. Farleigh Dickinson proceeded to go on a 3-1 run to make it 7-6 Penn State. Kills by Kuhns and Kowal and an Ellis Carballo attack error made it a 3-0 run for the Nittany Lions as Farleigh Dickinson called a timeout. Another error on Ellis Carballo and a Kowal kill extended the run to 5-0.

The Knights scored twice to end the run, but Penn State returned with two more of its own with kills by Kuhns and Stowe. A Lydon error forced another Farleigh Dickinson timeout as Penn State led 15-8. Out of the timeout, Rodic and Lydon teamed up for a block for the Knights.

Cosgrove got the score back for Penn State with a kill then a run of five straight errors resulted in an 18-12 Penn State lead. The teams then exchanged the next four scores. Kowal tallied a kill but Farleigh Dickinson struck back. Kowal then notched another kill to make it 22-16. From there it was all Penn State as it took the third set 25-16 and took the match lead 2-1. 

Ellis Carballo started the fourth set with a kill. A service error on Young earned Penn State its first point of the set, and from there, the back-and-forth play continued. Both teams alternated leads as they exchanged the next eight points.  

From there, it was more of the same for both squads. An ace by Stowe broke the monotony, and Penn State followed the ace with a kill by Rose to make it 11-9 Penn State. The Nittany Lions maintained their two-point lead with the help of three kills by Kowal.  

Farleigh Dickinson tied the set back up after a Young kill and a Stowe error. The Knights then took a one-point lead off a Kuhns error. Penn State then tied it up again but Farleigh Dickinson regained the lead once again with a kill by La Kara and an ace by Ellis Carballo to make it 19-17 in favor of the Knights. 

Out of this break, Dylan McFadden’s service error, a Carter Dittman ace, and a kill by Dittman gave Penn State a 21-20 lead. Farleigh Dickinson called a timeout then a Young attack error and a Dittman kill forced another Knights timeout. After that, Penn State was within one of the match after Kowal’s 24th kill.  

Penn State won the match with a 25-21 set victory off a Rose kill. 

Takeaways

• It was another career game for Kowal as he recorded an impressive 24 kills on .697 hitting.
• Dating back to last season, the Nittany Lions have won 10 straight matches in Rec Hall and are 43-4 over the last four seasons. 
• True freshman Zach Stowe showed out in his first start with five kills and hit .375.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions begin conference play against Princeton at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 16, in New Jersey.