No. 9 Penn State men’s volleyball (19-6, 8-0 EIVA) swept Charleston (11-14, 2-6 EIVA) on the road Saturday afternoon.

After winning in four sets against Charleston on Friday night, the Nittany Lions were able to get the sweep this time, but the third set got very tight for Penn State as a total of 58 points were played during this set before the Nittany Lions pulled off the sweep by winning the third set 30-28.

How It Happened

Charleston got off to a hot start as it won two of the first three points of the match. Max Nissen and Isak Joelsson got the first two points of the match for Charleston before Penn State got on the board on a service error. However, Charleston scored three of the next four points to make it 5-2.

Both teams went back and forth for the next four points until kills by Michal Kowal and Owen Rose allowed the Nittany Lions to trim the deficit to one. Charleston responded with two straight kills by Ras Jesse Delancy and Cole Duncanson to restore its three-point advantage. Penn State took its first lead of the set with a 5-0 run that consisted of two service aces by Michael Schwob, a kill by Rose, and two attack errors by Charleston, forcing a timeout from the Golden Eagles.

After the timeout, Penn State increased its run to six after another service ace by Schwob. The run ended when Nissen recorded a kill for Charleston to decrease the Nittany Lions’ lead to two. After this, the Nittany Lions continued to ride their momentum as they went on a 3-0 run that was highlighted by a kill by John Kerr and two aces by Kowal which forced Charleston to take another timeout.

Out of the timeout, Charleston could not stop the bleeding as Penn State increased its run to five with a kill by Michael Valenzi and an attack error by Delancy to make it 17-10 in favor of the Nittany Lions. The run ended when Valenzi committed an attack error to decrease Penn State’s lead to six. Even when Charleston ended Penn State’s runs, the Nittany Lions kept putting their foot on the gas as they went on a 4-0 run. This run was highlighted by two kills by Kerr, one kill by Toby Ezeonu, and a service ace by Rose which increased Penn State’s lead to double digits.

This run ended with an attack error by Valenzi, but the Nittany Lions wouldn’t let Charleston gain any momentum as it went on to win three straight points due to a kill by Kerr and two attack errors by Charleston, which made it set point in favor of Penn State. Charleston was able to save two set points due to a kill by Jake Couzens and an attack error by Kerr. The Nittany Lions finally capitalized on their third set opportunity as Kowal recorded a kill and Penn State went on to win the first set 25-14.

Unlike the first set, Penn State got off to a fast start in the second set as it won the first five points of the set due to two service aces by Kowal and three attack errors by Charleston. Charleston got on the board on the sixth point of the set when Felipe Mendes recorded a kill. After a kill by Valenzi and an attack error by Rose, the Nittany Lions went on a 3-0 run to make it 9-2 which forced Charleston to take a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Charleston ended Penn State’s run when Kerr committed a service error. The Nittany Lions extended their lead to eight by going on a 3-1 run. Charleston responded back by winning two straight points off a kill by Delancy and an attack error by Kowal to decrease its deficit to six.

Both teams exchanged scores for four straight points, which consisted of two service errors and kills by each team. The Nittany Lions increased their lead to eight when Kerr recorded a kill and Charleston’s Mendes committed an attack error. After both teams recorded kills, Charleston showed resilience as it scored three straight points due to errors committed by Penn State to decrease its deficit to five. The run ended when Kerr recorded a kill for the Nittany Lions to increase their lead to six.

Both teams went blow-for-blow for eight straight points until a kill by Charleston’s Garret Schnitker and an ace by Mendes trimmed Penn State’s lead to four. However, Charleston’s momentum was short-lived as the Nittany Lions won two straight points due to kills by Kerr and Schwob, which made it 24-18 in favor of Penn State. After the Nittany Lions failed to convert on their first opportunity, Penn State capitalized on its second set opportunity as Charleston’s Couzens committed a service error.

The third set went underway with a kill by Rose to give the Nittany Lions the first point of the set. However, Charleston found some momentum and went on a 3-0 run to give itself its first lead of the set. This run ended when Valenzi recorded a kill for the Nittany Lions and after that, Rose recorded an ace, which tied up the set at three. After both teams committed a service error, Charleston regained the lead off two straight kills by Cole Duncanson, but the Nittany Lions responded by winning two straight points to tie the set at six.

After both teams exchanged the next two points, Penn State increased its lead to two when Ezeonu recorded a kill and Mendes committed an attack error. However, Charleston responded by winning two straight points to tie the set again at nine.

Both teams went back and forth for six straight points, but Penn State regained the lead of the set when Schnitker committed an attack error. Charleston tied up the set once again at 13 when Rose committed a service error.

The set stayed tight as neither team pulled away. However, after Charleston tied the set at 16, the Golden Eagles took the lead when Duncanson recorded a kill. The Nittany Lions showed their resilience by winning three straight points due to a kill by Kerr and attack errors by Charleston which forced the Golden Eagles to take a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Penn State increased its run to four when Kerr recorded another kill. This run ended Mendes recorded a kill for Charleston to decrease Penn State’s lead to two. After both teams exchanged kills, Penn State increased its lead to four when Rose recorded a kill and Charleston committed an attack error, which forced the Golden Eagles to take another timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Golden Eagles responded by winning two straight points to decrease the Nittany Lions’ lead to two. The Nittany Lions got their first match point when Kerr recorded a kill. However, Penn State failed to capitalize on its opportunities as Charleston won three straight points to tie the set at 24.

Valenzi’s kill gave the Nittany Lions another match point, but Charleston kept fighting back as it saved another match point. The Nittany Lions got a third opportunity when Ezeonu recorded a kill, but the Golden Eagles responded back with a kill from Duncanson to tie the set once again. This became a theme in the set as both teams exchanged the next four points and Penn State kept failing to convert on its match points.

After the set was tied up at 28, the Nittany Lions earned its eighth match-point opportunity when Valenzi recorded a huge kill for Penn State to make it 29-28. After seven failed opportunities, the Nittany Lions finally converted on their eighth match point opportunity thanks to another kill by Valenzi as it finished off the set 30-28.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions’ magic number to clinch the EIVA Conference is down to one. With this win, Penn State can clinch the conference in its next game against George Mason on Friday or with a George Mason loss against Harvard later today.
• Penn State’s hitting percentage was a huge difference in determining the outcome of the match. It had a team-hitting percentage of .297 compared to Charleston’s .167.
• Despite the win, the Nittany Lions need to improve on capitalizing on their match-point opportunities. Penn State failed to convert seven match points before finally capitalizing on its eighth opportunity. With the EIVA Tournament coming up, the Nittany Lions cannot afford to waste these opportunities when it matters most.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will head back to Rec Hall to take on George Mason at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 12, as they attempt to clinch the EIVA Conference. The game will be streamed on BTN+.