Penn State men’s volleyball (11-15, 8-4 EIVA) upset No. 19 Princeton (14-10, 10-2 EIVA) with a sweep in Rec Hall on Saturday afternoon. With this win, Penn State kept its hopes alive of clinching a first-round bye in the EIVA Tournament, though that standing is contingent on an NJIT loss later Saturday.

After Friday night’s four-set victory, the Tigers rested most of their starters on Saturday after clinching the EIVA regular season title. The Nittany Lions took advantage of this as they dominated the Tigers in the first two sets. Princeton made things tricky for Penn State in the third set, but in the end, the Nittany Lions managed to complete the sweep.

How It Happened

Both teams exchanged kills as the match got underway. The Tigers won three of the next four points to take an early 4-2 lead. This lead was short-lived as Penn State went on a 3-0 run to take the lead, highlighted by two kills by Miller Trubey and a service ace by Will Kuhns. On the next point, Jameson Vaccaro recorded a kill for Princeton to tie the set at five.

However, the Nittany Lions started to seize their momentum as they went on another 3-0 run to take a three-point lead. Both teams went back and forth for the next eight points as Penn State’s lead stayed intact. Princeton responded with a 3-0 run to tie the set at 12. The Tigers extended their run to five to take a 14-12 lead before a kill by Sean Harvey on the next point ended it.

Both teams traded blows for the next six points before a block assist by Michael Schwob, Carter Dittman, and Owen Rose tied the set at 17. After that, Trubey recorded three consecutive service ace, which allowed the Nittany Lions to take a three-point lead. This led Princeton to take its first timeout.

THREE STRAIGHT ACES FOR TRUBEY #WeAre pic.twitter.com/G04AJlRfeG

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 19, 2025

Out of the timeout, Penn State started to put its foot on the gas as it extended its run to five with a kill by Harvey and a block assist by Dittman and Rose. This gave Penn State a 22-17 lead as the Tigers took another timeout to cool off the Nittany Lions’ momentum.

The Nittany Lions extended their run to six after the timeout, but it ended right after with a service error by Trubey. However, he redeemed himself with back-to-back kills to win the first set 25-18.

Penn State won the first point of the second set before a service error by Trubey got Princeton on the board. However, the Nittany Lions continued to exert their dominance in this match as they won four of the next five points to take an early 5-2 lead.

Both teams exchanged the next 10 points as Penn State’s three-point lead stayed intact. After the Nittany Lions won two of the next three, the Tigers started to show signs of life as they went on a 3-0 run to get within one of tying the set at 12. On the next point, Harvey recorded a critical kill that allowed Penn State to have some breathing room.

The back-and-forth exchange waged on for the next four points before back-to-back points by Princeton tied the set at 15. The deadlock stayed intact for the next eight points as neither team managed to pull away. However, the Nittany Lions broke through as they won consecutive points to take a 21-19 lead. This forced the Tigers to take their first timeout of the set.

After the timeout, both teams exchanged points before back-to-back points by Penn State gave it set point. This led to another timeout by Princeton. The Nittany Lions clinched a 25-20 second-set win after the timeout with a service ace by Schwob.

Schwob ACE to end set two!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/tpVw71es5s

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 19, 2025

Both teams traded errors to get the third set underway. Penn State won three of the next four points to take an early two-point lead. However, this lead was short-lived as the Tigers responded with consecutive points to tie the set at four.

The deadlock was broken right away as the Nittany Lions won back-to-back points to take a two-point lead. After Schwob recorded a service error on the next point, Penn State started to seize its momentum as it went on a 4-0 run to extend its lead to five. This forced Princeton to take a timeout.

Out of the timeout, both teams exchanged blows for the next 10 points as Penn State’s lead stayed intact. The Nittany Lions continued to take advantage of Princeton’s backups as they won three of the next four points to take an 18-11 lead. This led to another timeout by the Tigers as things started to get out of hand for them.

Dittman on fire!!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/liLd8F11wO

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 19, 2025

Penn State extended its lead to eight after the timeout with a kill by Trubey. After Princeton won consecutive points, the Nittany Lions responded with consecutive points of their own. However, the Tigers refused to go away that easily and responded by winning six of the next eight points to trim their deficit to four. This forced Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to use a timeout.

After the timeout, Vaccaro recorded a kill for the Tigers to get them within three of Penn State’s lead. On the next point, Rose recorded a huge kill for the Nittany Lions to give them four match-point opportunities. Penn State could not capitalize on its first two opportunities, which led it to take another timeout. This timeout paid dividends as Harvey’s kill allowed the Nittany Lions to win the third set 25-22.

Takeaways

• For the first time in its history, Penn State might not have a first-round bye in the EIVA Tournament, despite the win. It will have to hope for an NJIT loss later today,y or else it will have to win three matches in a row in Princeton, New Jersey, to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Nittany Lions finally got a win against a ranked opponent. Coming into Saturday, they had lost 12 consecutive matches against ranked opponents this season. Despite Princeton resting most of its starters today, Penn State prevented ending the regular season without a ranked win.
• Trubey was all over the court today. He recorded 15 of the team’s 40 kills along with three service aces, five digs, and one assist. He was also very efficient as he had a hitting percentage of .300 on 30 total attacks. It will be critical for him to replicate this performance if the Nittany Lions are to win the EIVA Tournament next week.

What’s Next?

The EIVA Tournament kicks off on Wednesday, April 23, which will be hosted by Princeton at Dillon Gymnasium. Penn State’s path to a title game is yet to be decided.