No. 3 seed Penn State men’s volleyball (14-15, 8-4 EIVA) upset No. 1 seed Princeton (16-11, 10-2 EIVA) 3-0 in the EIVA Championship on Saturday afternoon at Dillon Gymnasium. The Nittany Lions have won three consecutive EIVA titles and are headed to the NCAA Tournament.

Despite not having a home-court advantage, the Nittany Lions did not let that deter them as they got off to a fast start by winning the first set. In a back-and-forth second set, they came out on top despite failing to convert three of their four set point opportunities. This gave them momentum as they went on to win the third set in a convincing fashion to complete the sweep.

How It Happened

Penn State got off to a fast start in the first set as it won four of the first five points to take an early 4-1 lead. Princeton took advantage of the Nittany Lions’ consecutive errors to get within one, but Matthew Luoma recorded a critical kill for the Nittany Lions on the next point to give them some breathing room.

This kill gave Penn State some momentum as it won three consecutive points to extend its lead to five. Both teams traded kills for the next six points before a kill by Luoma gave the Nittany Lions a 12-6 lead. After Luoma’s kill, Penn State won back-to-back points to increase its lead to eight.

However, the Tigers refused to go away and responded with a 4-0 run to trim their deficit to four. This forced Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to use his first timeout in hopes of cooling off Princeton’s momentum. Out of the timeout, Princeton continued to show its resilience as it won three of the next four points to decrease the deficit to two.

Both teams exchanged kills before a service ace by Henry Wedbush got the Tigers within one of tying the set at 16. However, the Nittany Lions refused to relinquish their lead and responded with a 3-0 to take a 19-15 lead. This forced Princeton to take its first timeout.

Both teams traded blows for the next four points after the timeout. A kill by Carter Dittman and an attack error by Princeton allowed Penn State to get within two points of winning the first set. This led to another timeout by the Tigers.

Out of the timeout, the Tigers won back-to-back points before a service error by Nyherowo Omene gave the Nittany Lions set point. Omene recorded a kill to save a set point for Princeton, but Penn State capitalized on its second opportunity as Luoma’s kill allowed it to win the first set 25-20.

Penn State got on the board first in the second set before back-to-back points by the Tigers gave them the lead. After the Nittany Lions responded by winning consecutive points, Princeton went on a 3-0 run to take a two-point lead.

This lead was short-lived as the Nittany Lions responded with a 3-0 run of their own to take a one-point lead. The Tigers once again went on another 3-0 run to restore their lead. After Dittman recorded a kill on the next point, Princeton won back-to-back points to extend its lead to three. However, Penn State showed its resilience and won four of the next five points to tie the set at 11.

Both teams traded blows for the next six points as the deadlock stayed intact. On the next point, Luoma recorded a kill to give the Nittany Lions the lead heading into the media timeout.

After the media timeout, both teams exchanged points before Penn State won back-to-back points to increase its lead to three. However, the Tigers gained some momentum as they recorded three consecutive kills to tie the set at 18. This forced Penn State to take a timeout.

Out of the timeout, both teams committed service errors, but Penn State’s offense continued to stay aggressive as Owen Rose and Luoma recorded kills to give it a 21-19 lead. This led to a timeout by the Tigers.

Both teams exchanged the next four points after the timeout as Penn State’s lead stayed intact. Omene’s kill got Princeton within one of tying the set, but on the next point, Will Kuhns recorded a huge kill to give the Nittany Lions two set point opportunities, which led to another timeout by Princeton.

This timeout paid huge dividends for the Tigers as they saved two set points to tie the set at 24. The back-and-forth affair waged on for two more points before a service error by Princeton gave Penn State its fourth set point opportunity. It finally converted on its fourth opportunity as Gaige Gabriel recorded the critical kill to win the second set 27-25 for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State seized its momentum from winning the second set as it won four of the first five points in the third set. However, the Tigers refused to go away as they recorded three consecutive kills to tie the set at four. This deadlock was short-lived as the Nittany Lions responded with a 4-0 run to take an 8-4 lead, which led to a Princeton timeout.

Penn State continued to seize momentum as it recorded back-to-back kills to extend its lead to six. The Tigers continued to fight back and won four of the next six points to trim their deficit to four. However, the Nittany Lions refused to give any sort of momentum to the Tigers as they went on a 5-1 run to extend their lead to eight. This forced Princeton to take another timeout.

After the timeout, both teams traded kills for the next four points before the Tigers went on a 3-0 run to reduce their deficit to six. This led to a timeout by Penn State. This timeout paid off for it as it won back-to-back points to take a 21-13 lead.

Both teams exchanged points, but the Tigers continued to claw their way back into the match as they went on a 3-0 run to trim their deficit to five. However, the Nittany Lions recorded back-to-back kills to give themselves seven championship points.

Penn State committed back-to-back errors that allowed Princeton to stay alive in the match. However, it refused to let this golden opportunity slip away as Luoma recorded a kill on its third opportunity to complete the sweep and win its third consecutive EIVA title.

Takeaways

• In a season where the Nittany Lions suffered their first losing season under Pavlik, they played their best volleyball at the perfect time and demonstrated their resilience. They swept all their opponents en route to another EIVA championship and NCAA Tournament appearance, despite their losing record.
• Penn State did a great job limiting Princeton’s strength: blocks. It outperformed the Tigers in this category as it recorded 16 blocks compared to Princeton’s 11. The Nittany Lions outperformed their opponents in every category.
• What a match by Luoma. The redshirt sophomore was the catalyst in this sweep as he recorded 18 of the team’s 45 kills, seven digs, two blocks, a service ace, an assist, and a hitting percentage of .256 on 39 total attacks.

What’s Next?

Penn State will wait to find out who it plays in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.