Penn State men’s volleyball (6-14, 3-3 EIVA) fell to Charleston (10-11, 5-3 EIVA) in a four-set thriller in Rec Hall on Saturday afternoon. This was the first time in Charleston’s history that it defeated Penn State and ended Penn State’s unbeaten run in Rec Hall.

After sweeping Charleston on Friday night, the Nittany Lions had to dig deep as they got dominated in the first set. Penn State responded by winning the second set, but they couldn’t convert on their set points in the third set, and this proved to be critical as they ended up losing the fourth set on Senior Day.

How It Happened

The match got underway with Charleston getting off to a fast start as it won the first three points of the match before an attack error by Kai Cousins got Penn State on the board. However, the Golden Eagles continued to exert their dominance in the match as they went on a 4-1 run to take an early 7-2 lead.

The Nittany Lions showed their resilience and responded with a 3-0 run to trim their deficit to two. Charleston refused to let Penn State ride its momentum and won three of the next four points to increase its lead to four. Both teams traded blows for the next four points before the Nittany Lions recorded back-to-back kills to get within two.

The Golden Eagles refused to surrender their lead and won consecutive points to restore their four-point lead. Both teams went back and forth for the next four points before Will Kuhns’ attack error and Cousins’ kill gave Charleston a 17-12 lead. This forced Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to use its first timeout of the match.

Out of the timeout, both teams exchanged the next four points as the Golden Eagles’ lead stayed intact. However, Charleston put its foot on the gas and went on a 3-0 run to get within three points of winning the first set. This led to the Nittany Lions to taking another timeout in hopes of finding a way to get back into the set.

Both teams exchanged points after the timeout before Ryan Merk’s service error gave the Golden Eagles their first set point. Charleston capitalized on its first opportunity as Korben Phillips recorded a solo block to give it a 25-15 first set win.

Both teams went back and forth for the first four points of the second set. This trend continued as both teams exchanged the next four points with the deadlock staying intact. Penn State finally gained some momentum as it went on a 3-0 run to take a 7-4 lead. This run was highlighted with a block assist by Michael Schwob and Owen Rose, along with a kill by Rose.

After Cousins’ kill ended this run, Kuhns recorded back-to-back kills to extend Penn State’s lead to four. This forced Charleston to take its first timeout of the match. Out of the timeout, the Nittany Lions continued to ride their momentum and won three of the next four points to take a 12-6 lead.

Both teams traded blows for the next six points before Penn State went on a 3-0 run to extend its lead to nine. This run was highlighted with a kill by Sean Harvey and a service ace by Matthew Luoma, which led to another Charleston timeout.

Luoma finds the line for the ace pic.twitter.com/EvhTwm6con

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) March 29, 2025

After the timeout, Max Nissen recorded a kill for the Golden Eagles to end the Nittany Lions’ run. However, Penn State continued to seize its momentum as it won four of the next six points to increase its lead to double digits. Charleston refused to go away and responded with a 5-1 run to decrease its deficit to six. This forced the Nittany Lions to use their timeout.

The Golden Eagles continued to claw back into the set as they went on a 3-0 run before a critical kill by Luoma get Penn State its first set point. The Nittany Lions refused to let this set slip away and took advantage of this opportunity with an attack error by Charleston to win the second set 25-20 and tie the match at one set apiece.

Penn State got off to a fast start in the third set as it won three of the first four points. Both teams went back and forth for the next six points before back-to-back kills by Charleston tied the set at six. This back-and-forth affair continued for the next six points as the deadlock stayed intact.

The Nittany Lions won back-to-back points to restore their lead, but it was short-lived as the Golden Eagles went on a 3-0 run to take the lead. After Harvey’s kill tied the set at 12, both teams traded blows for the next four points before Luoma’s kill and Schwob’s service ace gave the Nittany Lions a two-point lead. This led the Golden Eagles to take a timeout.

After the timeout, Charleston responded and won consecutive points to tie the set once again. Both teams traded blows for the next 10 points as the deadlock stayed intact. With the score tied at 21, Nissen, Baxton Francis, and Cousins recorded a block assist to take the lead before Penn State took a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Kuhns recorded a kill to tie the set once again. Both teams exchanged points before Nissen’s kill gave the Golden Eagles set point. The Nittany Lions managed to save set point on a kill by Luoma. Both teams went back and forth for the next four points as neither team took advantage of their set point opportunities. Luoma recorded a kill to give Penn State another set point before Charleston took another timeout.

The Nittany Lions couldn’t capitalize once again as Luoma recorded a service error. The nonstop battle continued for the next 10 points before a kill by Paul Stommel gave the Golden Eagles another set point at 33-32. This forced Penn State to take a timeout in hopes of avoiding losing the set.

Out of the timeout, Penn State saved another set point on a kill by Harvey. Both teams exchanged points before consecutive kills by Cousins gave the Golden Eagles the critical third set win at 36-34.

Despite losing the third set, the Nittany Lions won consecutive points to get the fourth set underway before the Golden Eagles responded with back-to-back points. Both teams traded points before Penn State went on a 3-0 run to take an early 6-3 lead. Both teams went back and forth for the next four points before Charleston took a timeout.

After the timeout, the Nittany Lions won three of the next four points to extend their lead to five. Both teams traded blows for the next six points before the Golden Eagles went on a 3-0 run to decrease their deficit to two. This forced Pavlik to take a timeout for Penn State.

This timeout paid dividends for the Nittany Lions as they won consecutive points to increase their lead to four. However, Charleston refused to go away and won three of the next four points to get within two of Penn State’s lead. Both teams exchanged the next 10 points as Penn State’s lead stayed intact.

Both teams traded points before the Golden Eagles won consecutive points to tie the set at 23. This forced Penn State to take a timeout in hopes of avoiding losing the set. Charleston got its first match point out of the timeout, but it couldn’t finish off the match as Cousins’ service error kept the Nittany Lions alive in the match.

However, the Golden Eagles refused to allow this match to go to a fifth set and recorded back-to-back kills to win the fourth set 26-24.

Takeaways

• What an upset. Going into this match, Charleston had never beaten Penn State, and that all changed as it won its first meeting ever.
• The Nittany Lions wasted a golden opportunity to climb up in the EIVA standings as it lost their first home game in almost two years. With four of their remaining six games being at Rec Hall, the Nittany Lions have to run the table if they are to have any hope of hosting the EIVA Tournament.
• Despite being evenly matched in most of the statistics, kills proved to be the critical factor in deciding this match as Charleston recorded 73 kills compared to Penn State’s 61.

What’s Next?

Penn State will try to bounce back from this loss as it stays home to take on Sacred Heart in a two-game series. The first game will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 4.