Penn State men’s volleyball (10-14, 7-3 EIVA) came back from a 2-1 set deficit to defeat George Mason (13-12, 4-6 EIVA) 3-2 in another five-set thriller at the Recreation Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.

After defeating the Patriots in five sets last night, the Nittany Lions had another five-set bout today against the Patriots as the first four sets were all separated by two points. The Nittany Lions had to save four match points in the fourth set before winning the fifth set by three points. With this win, Penn State’s hopes of winning the EIVA regular season title remained alive.

How It Happened

Penn State got off to a fast start as it won the first three points of the first set on errors by George Mason. On the next point, the Patriots got on the board with a kill by Evan Snodgrass. The errors kept on mounting for George Mason as the Nittany Lions won consecutive points before Snodgrass won back-to-back points for the Patriots.

However, Penn State continued to take advantage of George Mason’s errors as it won three of the next four points to take an early 8-4 lead. This forced the Patriots to take a timeout as seven of Penn State’s won points came off errors by them.

Out of the timeout, both teams went back and forth for the next 10 points as Penn State’s four-point lead stayed intact. However, the Patriots started to show signs of life as they won four of the next five points to get within one of tying the set at 14. Both teams exchanged points before an attack error by Owen Rose tied the set at 15.

Luoma restored Penn State’s lead with a kill, but the errors started to mount for the Nittany Lions as back-to-back errors gave George Mason its first lead of the set. This led Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to use his first timeout.

After the timeout, Will Kuhns’ kill tied the set at 17 but the deadlock was short-lived as the Patriots went on a 4-0 run to take a four-point lead. This forced Penn State to take another timeout as the set started to slip away from it.

Both teams traded blows for four points out of the timeout before consecutive points by the Nittany Lions reduced their deficit to two. This led to a timeout by George Mason. Penn State got within one of George Mason’s lead after the timeout but a service error by Matthew Luoma gave it two set-point opportunities.

However, the Patriots did not take advantage of them as the Nittany Lions saved set points on a kill by Michael Schwob and an attack error by George Mason. The tables turned right after as Luoma’s kill and block by Schwob and Rose gave the Nittany Lions the first-set victory 26-24.

ROOF! For set point!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/CwHCWLLq8Z

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 12, 2025

George Mason won three of the first four points as the second set got underway. Both teams traded kills for the next eight points as its lead stayed intact. This streak of kills ended right after Luoma recorded a service error to give the Patriots an 8-5 lead.

Penn State started to claw its way back into the set as it won three of the next four points to decrease its deficit to one. Both teams exchanged kills before back-to-back points by the Patriots restored their three-point lead. The back-and-forth exchange continued for the next four points before a service ace by Derek Nagel gave George Mason a 15-11 lead heading into the media timeout.

This media timeout paid dividends for the Nittany Lions as they went on a 3-0 run to get within one of the Patriots’ lead. However, George Mason refused to relinquish its lead and responded with a 3-0 run to restore its four-point lead. This led Pavlik to use its first timeout of the set. After the timeout, Penn State continued to fight back as it won three of the next four points to trim its deficit to two which forced a timeout by George Mason.

Out of the timeout, both teams exchanged kills for the next four points before a block by Kuhns got Penn State within one of tying the set at 21. This led to another timeout by the Patriots in hopes of avoiding a collapse.

Both teams traded kills after the timeout before back-to-back attack errors gave the Nittany Lions the lead. However, this lead was short-lived as consecutive points by the Patriots gave them a set point which forced Penn State to take a timeout. George Mason clinched the 25-23 second set win on an attack error by Carter Dittman as we headed into the third set at one set apiece.

Despite losing the second set, the Nittany Lions got off to a flying start as they won the first points of the third set. This led to an early timeout by the Patriots. Out of the timeout, George Mason finally got on the board with a kill of its own.

Both teams went back and forth for the next four points before four consecutive points by Penn State extended its lead to eight. However, the Patriots refused to go away and responded by winning four of the next five points to get within five of the Nittany Lions’ lead.

Penn State refused to give George Mason any sort of momentum and won four of the next six points to take a 16-9 lead. The Patriots continued to claw back in the set as they won four of the next five points to trim their deficit to four. This forced Penn State to take a timeout. This timeout paid off as it won three of the next four points to extend its lead to six and force George Mason to take another timeout.

After the timeout, the Patriots continued to fight back as they won four of the next five points to reduce their deficit to three. This forced the Nittany Lions to take another timeout.

Both teams exchanged points after the timeout before the Patriots won three consecutive points to tie the set at 22. Both teams traded points once again before a kill by Gio Collazo gave George Mason a set point. After Kuhns’ kill saved the set point, both teams traded blows for the next 10 points as neither team took advantage of its opportunities. However, the Patriots won back-to-back points to win an entertaining third set 31-29.

Penn State won three of the first four points of the fourth set before three consecutive points by George Mason gave it a 4-3 lead. After an attack error by the Patriots tied the set four, the Nittany Lions got sloppy on the attack and committed back-to-back attack errors to take a three-point lead, forcing them to take a timeout.

After George Mason recorded a kill out of the timeout, Penn State went on a 3-0 run to reduce its deficit to one. However, the Patriots responded by winning four of the next six points to restore their three-point lead. The Nittany Lions refused to go away and won five of the next seven points to tie the set at 14 which led to a George Mason timeout.

Out of the timeout, both teams went back and forth for the next four points before consecutive points by Penn State gave it an 18-16 lead. After Snodgrass’s kill reduced George Mason’s deficit to one, the Nittany Lions went on a 3-0 run to take a four-point lead which forced the Patriots to take a timeout.

Both teams exchanged the next six points after the timeout which gave Penn State four set-point opportunities. George Mason saved two set points which led to a timeout by the Nittany Lions. The timeout did not pay off for the Nittany Lions as the Patriots saved two more set points.

Both teams traded points before the tables turned and a service ace by Collazo gave George Mason a match point. A service error by the Patriots allowed Penn State to save a match point. This back-and-forth affair wagered on for the next eight points before back-to-back points allowed the Nittany Lions to win the fourth set 32-30 and send this match into a fifth set.

S4 | #PSUVB 32, GMU 30

We're headed at the RAC!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/iIf1EqBcpe

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 12, 2025

The final set got underway as both teams traded blows for the first 10 points of the set and neither team pulled away. The back-and-forth exchange continued for the next four points before a kill by Jackson Herbert gave the Patriots the lead heading into the media timeout.

Out of the media timeout, Milley Trubey recorded a kill for Penn State to tie the set at eight. Schwob recorded another kill for the Nittany Lions on the next point to give them a 9-8 lead and force George Mason to take a timeout. Kuhns made it three kills in a row for Penn State after the timeout before a kill by the Patriots ended it.

Kuhns continued to be aggressive on the attack as he recorded back-to-back kills to give Penn State a 12-9 lead. This forced the Patriots to take another timeout. After the timeout, the Patriots showed their resilience and won three of the next four points to get within one of the Nittany Lions’ lead. This forced Penn State to take a timeout.

This timeout paid huge dividends for Penn State as a service error and ace by Kuhns allowed it to close out the fifth set 15-12.

Kuhns ACE to end a classic at the RAC! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/9bJUas9PWX

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 13, 2025

Takeaways

• What a match. After the first match went to five sets yesterday, both teams were evenly matched once again as all four sets were separated by just two points. The fifth set was just separated by three as Penn State survived another five-setter.
• This win keeps the Nittany Lions’ hopes alive of winning the EIVA regular season. They now need to sweep Princeton in their two-game series to make that happen.
• Kuhns and Luoma were the catalysts in Penn State’s comeback victory as the duo combined for 35 of the team’s 70 kills. Kuhns showed up when Penn State needed it the most to close out the fifth set.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return to Rec Hall for its final two-game series of the regular season against first-place Princeton. The first match will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 18.