No. 20 Penn State men’s volleyball (5-8, 2-2 EIVA) handled Merrimack (5-3) 3-1 in Rec Hall on Friday night. The Nittany Lions have won five of five of their last six matches.

Will Kuhns, once again, led Penn State in scoring. He had 15 kills, one ace, and hit .357. Miller Trubey and Sean Harvey each had seven kills and one ace for the Nittany Lions.

How It Happened

Matt Cosgrove, Gaige Gabriel, Michael Schwob, Owen Rose, Kuhns, Trubey, and Ryan Merk got the start in this one.

The first set started with each team exchanging service errors and Nick Tidkik got the first kill of the match for Merrimack. Merk, the libero, got the second kill of his four-year career after his dig fell between a couple of Warriors but Kasen Owens got the score right back with a kill.

Both sides committed an error and it led to Penn State going on a 4-1 run with kills by Cosgrove, Gabriel, and Trubey and a Merrimack error. The Nittany Lions’ 7-5 lead disappeared when Ephriam Abhulime, Tidik, and Kai Vogel got kills for the Warriors and a Blake Taschner ace resulted in a 4-1 run.

A Taschner service error ended the run but Merrimack got two more scores for an 11-9 lead. Penn State got back on track with a 4-0 run that featured a Vogel error, a Kuhns kill, a Rose ace, and a block by Gabriel and Schwob. The run ended temporarily with Rose’s service error but the Nittany Lions scored three more after the Warriors committed two errors and Kuhns recorded a kill.

Merrimack then used its first timeout of the set down 16-12 and the Warriors got back on the board with a kill by Owens. However, a service error ended any momentum and the teams exchanged the next four scores until Cosgrove’s kill made it 20-15 Penn State. The Warriors hung around due to a Trubey service error but when Mark Pavlik’s challenge resulted in a kill for Kuhns, the set was out of reach.

The Warriors were able to score three more times but two Trubey kills and and few Merrimack errors gave set one to Penn State 25-19.

The second set started with the two teams trading the first four scores until a Trubey error and a block by Abhulime, Logan Witaker, and Ownes made it 4-2 Merrimack. The Nittany Lions tied the set with a Tidik error and a solo block by Trubey but the Warriors answered with a 3-1 run.

Gabriel got a kill to make it a one-score game but Vogel followed with back-to-back kills for Merrimack. The Nittany Lions got hot again and regained the lead with a 6-1 run that was capped off by a Merrimack timeout. The run featured two kills by Kuhns, a kill by Trubey a kill by Schwob, a Witaker error, and a Cosgrove ace as Penn State took a 12-10 lead.

Schwob with a lefty setter Kill pic.twitter.com/5QmjnZYR1A

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) March 1, 2025

The lead didn’t last long as Merrimack went on a 4-0 run with the help of two Penn State errors, a Vogel ace, and a block by Whitaker, Tidik, and Owens. The series of runs continued as the Nittany Lions took four of the next five scores due to two kills from Kuhns, a kill by Gabriel, and a Vogel error.

Abhulime’s kill tied the set at 16-16 and the Warriors took three of the next four scores with aces by Witaker and Owens, and another kill from Abhulime as Penn State used a timeout. Abhulime and Vogel teamed up for a block after the break and Cosgrove, Gabriel, and Trubey did the same.

TRIPLE BLOCK pic.twitter.com/jAFsSW7EjE

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) March 1, 2025

The Warriors then scored three straight to make it 23-18 as Penn State called its final timeout of the set. The Nittany Lions got killed by Kuhns and Cosgrove but Merrimack took the second game 25-20.

Trubey started the third set with an ace and error and Rose followed with another error. Penn State took a one-score lead when Sean Harvey got a kill and Schwob and Rose met for a block. Both sides exchanged the next six scores until Merrimack took a 7-6 lead with a kill from Vogel and a Kuhns error.

Penn State then took a 12-8 lead off a 6-1 run that had four Warrior errors and kills by Rose and Harvey. Merrimack called a timeout and it later got back on the board with a Trubey error.

First to ten on an Owen Rose kill pic.twitter.com/b6t6eRqLB0

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) March 1, 2025

Penn State maintained its lead as the two sides traded the next six scores. Schwob then got an ace for a 16-12 lead and an Abhulime error made it a five-score game. The Warriors scored off a Schwob error but the Nittany Lions made up for it with a Kuhns kill and ace.

Merrimack’s comeback bid was unsuccessful as Penn State took the third set 25-18 after four Warrior errors and a Kuhns kill.

The fourth set started with the first four scores split between the two sides until a Kuhns kill and a Vogel error made it 4-2 Penn State. Merrimack then took three of the next four scores to tie the set at 5-5. The lead alternated for the next four scores until the Nittany Lions made it 8-7 with a kill by Harvey.

Penn State then made it a 5-0 run with a solo block by Trubey, a kill by Rose, and an error by Abhulime as Merrimack used a timeout. The run continued with a solo block by Rose but the Warriors shrunk the lead to four with a Rose error and an Owens kill.

Rose is on fire pic.twitter.com/0la2YjirBB

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) March 1, 2025

The Nittany Lions got closer to victory with a 4-1 run that had kills by Harvey and Rose, a solo block from Harvey, and an ace Harvey ace. Harvey’s error ended the run but Rose followed with a kill to make it 17-11. Penn State maintained its big lead as the next six scores were split.

Penn State won the fourth and final set 25-16 with a block by Rose, two kills by Harvey, a block by Rose and Trubey, and another block by Schwob, Harvey, and Rose.

Takeaways

• Penn State played a cleaner game than Merrimack. The Warriors committed 10 more errors and the Nittany Lions hit .337 to Merrimack’s .163.
• Kuhns continues to lead the offense. He had 21 kills and hit .357 against NJIT last weekend and had 15 more kills and hit .357 tonight.
• The Nittany Lions also owned the net. They had 11 blocks to the Warriors’ five.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will hit the road again to face No. 12 Grand Canyon at 9 p.m. on Saturday, March 8. The match will be streamed on BIG+.