Penn State men’s volleyball (7-14, 4-3 EIVA) swept Sacred Heart (6-14, 0-9 EIVA) 3-0 on Friday night at Rec Hall South Gym in its first game in a two-game series.

After its unbeaten run at Rec Hall came to an end last week against Charleston, Penn State responded with a huge win to keep its hopes alive of hosting the EIVA tournament. In a back-and-forth first set, the Nittany Lions won the critical points to take the first set. This gave them momentum as they won the second and third sets to complete the sweep.

How It Happened

Sacred Heart got off to a quick start in the first set by winning the first two points before Penn State got on the board. After Will Kuhns’ kill tied the set at two, both teams traded blows for the next six points as the deadlock stayed intact.

This back-and-forth affair continued on for the next eight points as both teams struggled to extend their leads. However, the Nittany Lions finally broke the deadlock by going on a 3-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. This run was highlighted by two kills from Matthew Luoma and forced the Pioneers to take their first timeout.

Out of the timeout, Penn State increased its run to four on an attack error by Sacred Heart before a solo block by Aaron Johnson ended this run. The Nittany Lions put their foot on the gas and went on another 3-0 run to extend their lead to six. However, the Pioneers refused to go away and responded with a 3-0 run to get within three of Penn State’s lead. Both teams exchanged the next four points before Sacred Heart took another timeout.

This timeout paid dividends for the Pioneers as they won four of the next five points to decrease their deficit to two. This forced Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to take its first timeout. Sacred Heart got within one of tying the set at 20 after the timeout but Penn State responded with back-to-back points to give it some breathing room.

Both teams exchanged points before a kill by Owen Rose gave the Nittany Lions their first set point. The Pioneers saved two set points which forced Penn State to take a timeout in hopes of avoiding a collapse. This timeout paid off as Penn State took advantage of its third opportunity with a kill by Sean Harvey to win the first set 25-22.

The second set got underway with both teams exchanging points before consecutive points by Sacred Heart gave it an early lead. This lead was short-lived as the Nittany Lions won back-to-back points to tie the set at three. However, the Pioneers reestablished their lead by winning four of the next five points to take a 7-4 lead.

Both teams went back and forth for the next six points as Sacred Heart’s three-point stayed intact. However, Penn State showed its resilience and went on a 4-0 run to take the lead. This run was highlighted with kills by Gaige Gabriel along with a service ace by Kuhns which forced the Pioneers to take a timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Nittany Lions continued to seize their momentum as they extended their run to six before a kill by Sacred Heart’s Aleksa Mandic ended it. Penn State won three of the next four points right after to extend to take a 16-12 lead. Both teams exchanged points before an attack error by Pioneers forced them to take another timeout.

After the timeout, both teams traded blows for the next six points as Penn State’s lead stayed intact. After Kuhns’ kill extended Penn State’s lead to six, Sacred Heart refused to give up and responded with a 3-0 run to trim its deficit to three. This forced the Nittany Lions to take a timeout.

This timeout paid huge dividends as Penn State went on a 3-0 run to close out the second set 25-19. This run was highlighted with a solo block by Harvey and two errors by the Pioneers.

Johnson got the first kill of the third set for Sacred Heart before back-to-back errors gave Penn State the early lead. However, this lead was short-lived as the Pioneers went on a 3-0 run to take a 4-2 lead.

Both teams went back and forth for the next eight points as Sacred Heart’s lead stayed intact. After Cade Trujillo’s kill extended the Pioneers’ lead to three, the Nittany Lions won consecutive points to get within one of tying the set at nine.

Penn State could not tie it as Kuhns committed a service error, but it won consecutive points right away to tie the set at 10. This deadlock stayed intact for the next eight points as neither team ran away with the lead. However, a kill by Luoma and service ace by Michael Schwob gave the Nittany Lions a two-point lead which led to a timeout by the Pioneers.

The Pioneers tied the set at 16 after the timeout. This deadlock was short-lived as Penn State regained the lead with a kill by Gabriel and a service ace by Kuhns. Both teams traded points before back-to-back points by the Nittany Lions gave them a 20-17 lead which led to another timeout by Sacred Heart.

Out of the timeout, both teams exchanged the next four points before a kill by Harvey and a block assist by Schwob, Rose, and Kuhns gave Penn State a match point. It couldn’t capitalize on this opportunity but on the next point, Kuhns recorded a kill that gave the Nittany Lions a 25-20 set win and completed the sweep.

Takeaways

• Penn State desperately needed this win after it lost a heartbreaker last week against Charleston. With this win, it’s above .500 once again and kept its hopes alive of hosting the EIVA tournament.
• Despite being swept, the performance of Sacred Heart’s Aleksa Mandic cannot go unnoticed as he recorded 18 of the team’s 31 kills. This match would not have been as close as it was without his contributions.
• Hitting percentage was a huge factor in determining the outcome of this match as Penn State had a hitting percentage of .300 compared to Sacred Heart’s .176.

What’s Next?

Penn State will look to complete the sweep as it returns to Rec Hall South Gym to face Sacred Heart again on Saturday, April 5 at 3 p.m.