Penn State men’s volleyball (10-15, 7-4 EIVA) fell to No. 19 Princeton (14-9, 10-1 EIVA) 3-1 in Rec Hall Friday night. The win clinched the EIVA regular season title for the Tigers.

Nyherowo Omene got his in this one. The nation’s fifth-ranked kills leader and third-ranked points leader put up a line of 19 kills, seven blocks, and 22.5 points on .222 hitting. Matthew Luoma led the way for the Nittany Lions with 15 kills.

How It Happened

Princeton, the best blocking team in the EIVA, started the first set with two blocks. The first was by Ryan Vena and Henry Wedbush, and the other was a solo block by Vena. An attack error, a Luoma kill, and a Gaige Gabriel and Luoma block then gave Penn State a 3-2 lead.

Vena got a kill for the Tigers, but followed with a service error. Mason Rice got a kill, but Sean Harvey answered with a kill too. Harvey’s kill kicked off a 4-1 run that saw a kill by Will Kuhns, a block by Owen Rose and Luoma, and another block by Michael Schwob, Rose, and Kuhns. The run ended with a service error, but the Nittany Lions got it right back with a Luoma kill.

Princeton shortened the lead with two Vena kills, but it also committed two errors to keep it a three-score game. Vaccaro got the Tigers back on the board, but two more errors followed to make it 13-9 Penn State. The Nittany Lions committed an error, and Princeton used its first timeout of the set after two more errors again.

The timeout served the Tigers well as a kill from Omene and a bad set from the Nittany Lions followed. Luoma recorded a kill, but it was Penn State that committed two errors to cut its lead to 16-14. Rice notched a kill to make it a 5-1 run for Princeton as Penn State called a timeout.

Princeton took the lead after the break with a Penn State error and a block by Tristan Whitfield and Omene. Harvey got a kill, but the Tigers went on to take the next two scores via another Penn State error and a Vena, Omene, and Jameson Vaccaro block. Princeton then committed an error but got a kill from Omene for a 20-18 lead.

Gabriel and Kuhns teamed up for a block, and Penn State used its last timeout of the set after two more Princeton blocks. The Nittany Lions cut the lead to one after two Gabriel kills, however, it wasn’t enough. Luoma found another kill but an error, a Vena kill, and an Omene kill gave the Tigers set one 25-22.

Penn State jumped to a lead to start the second set after a Harvey kill and a Luoma and Gabriel block. But Princeton took six of the next seven scores in a run that featured a Vaccaro, Vena, and Omene block, two Penn State errors, a Vaccaro kill, and two Rice kills. The Nittany Lions ended the run with a Luoma kill and a Princeton error and were still down 6-5.

Wedbush found a kill for the Tigers, and Penn State went on a 3-0 run with kills from Schwob and Luoma, and a Princeton error. The two sides split the next four scores until a Schwob ace extended the Nittany Lions’ lead to 11-9. The next four scores were split again, and Luoma’s kill kept it a three-point game.

The Nittany Lions scored off of kills from Luoma and Rose and a Princeton error, but the Tigers answered each one with a Vena kill and two Penn State errors. The back-and-forth scoring continued for the next six points until a 3-0 run from the Tigers gave them a 19-18 lead. The run featured a Penn State error, a Vaccaro kill, and a Nolan Kelly ace.

The Nittany Lions used a timeout and regained the lead with two Gabriel kills. The next six scores were divided between the two sides again as the Tigers used a timeout at 23-22 Penn State. Rice and Luoma exchanged kills to make it set point, but miscommunication resulted in an error for Penn State and sent the set into deuce.

Princeton used its final timeout of the second set after a service error gave Penn State the advantage. Omene’s kill tied the set again, but another service error gave the Nittany Lions the advantage. This time, though, they capitalized with a Harvey solo block to take the second set 27-25.

The third set started with four errors shared between both sides until Luoma’s 10th kill of the match gave Penn State a 3-2 lead. Two more Penn State errors and a Princeton error tied the set before a 3-0 run by the Tigers made it 7-4. That run consisted of a Rice kill, a Penn State error, and a Wedbush ace.

However, the Nittany Lions took three of the next four scores with a Rose kill, a Princeton error, and another Schwob ace. Owen Mellon’s kill extended the Tigers’ lead to 9-7, but an error and a Gabriel and Luoma block tied the set for Penn State. Kills by Omene and Rice, and a Penn State error, made it a 3-0 run for Princeton as the Nittany Lions used a timeout down 12-9.

Luoma and Rice exchanged kills, and Harvey’s kill was answered with a Wedbush, Vena, and Rice block. Vena recorded an ace, but Rose and Luoma answered with a block. The next six scores were shared by both sides until a 3-0 run from Princeton made it 21-15.

Penn State used a timeout and took three of the next four scores with a Rose kill, a Kuhns kill, and a Princeton error. But two Omene kills and a Wedbush block gave the Tigers the third set 25-18.

The two sides shared a 6-6 lead at the beginning of the fourth set. That was until a Princeton error and a Luoma kill gave the Nittany Lions a two-score lead. The Tigers answered with a Mellon kill and a Penn State error. The Nittany Lions took six of the next eight scores with kills by Rose, Luoma, and Kuhns, two Princeton errors, and Schwob’s third ace of the match.

Omene ended the run with a kill, but Penn State got back on track after a Princeton error and a Luoma kill as the Tigers called a timeout down 16-11. The Tigers scored off an error and an Omene kill, but Gabriel got Penn State back on the board with a kill. Omene scored his 15th kill of the match, and Wedbush followed with a kill as the Nittany Lions called a timeout up 17-15.

Carter Dittman went back-to-back on kills for his first two points of the match after the break, but Vena and Wedbush answered with a block. Luoma got a kill, and a Princeton error put Penn State up 21-16. However, Princeton cut the lead down to three off a Penn State error and an Omene kill.

Those two scores were the start of a 5-0 run for the Tigers as Omene got another kill, Vena recorded an ace, and Penn State made an error to tie the set at 21-21. A Princeton error gave the Nittany Lions the lead again, but it was short-lived as Ethan Wells, Wedbush, and Rice got a block.

The Tigers took the lead after an Omene kill and a Penn State error. Princeton was on an 8-1 run until a service error kept Penn State alive down 24-23. Despite Dittman keeping the match alive with a challenging pass near the bleachers, it was a fitting end as Omene got the final kill to take the fourth set 25-23.

Takeaways

• For the first time since 2019, Penn State will not host the EIVA Tournament. The loss tonight clinched the No. 1 seed for the Tigers.
• Princeton owned the net tonight. The Tigers made 18 blocks to Penn State’s 11.
• Penn State held a lead for most of the fourth set and almost forced a fifth until Princeton scored nine of the final 11 points of the match.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will host No. 19 Princeton again in Rec Hall for its regular season finale at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 19. The match will air on BTN+.