No. 7 seed Penn State men’s volleyball (15-16, 8-4 EIVA) was eliminated by No. 2 seed Hawaii (27-5, 7-3 Big West) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament at Covelli Center in a four-set defeat. This is the second consecutive year that the Nittany Lions have been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

After being swept by the Rainbow Warriors earlier this season, the Nittany Lions had an 11-3 lead in the first set, but the Rainbow Warriors showed their resilience as they overcame this deficit to win the first set. Penn State refused to let this deter it and responded by winning the second set before Hawaii won the critical third set. This gave it momentum as it went on to win the match in four sets.

How It Happened

Penn State got off to a fast start as it took an early 5-0 lead in the first set. This run was highlighted with three kills by Matthew Luoma and a kill by Will Kuhns, which forced Hawaii to take an early timeout to cool off the Nittany Lions’ momentum.

Out of the timeout, the Nittany Lions extended their run to six before the Rainbow Warriors finally got on the board on a kill by Kurt Nusterer. Both teams exchanged the next four points before Penn State went on a 3-0 run to increase its lead to eight.

However, Hawaii started to show signs of life as it responded with a 4-0 run to trim its deficit to four. This forced Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to take his first timeout of the match. This timeout did not pay dividends as the Rainbow Warriors extended their run to eight to tie the set at 11. After tying it, they took their first lead on a service ace by Finn Kearney.

Both teams traded service errors, but Hawaii continued to seize its momentum, winning back-to-back points to extend its lead to three. Penn State won three of the next four points to get within one of Hawaii’s lead. After both teams exchanged kills, the Nittany Lions tied the set at 17 on the next point due to a kill by Luoma.

However, this deadlock was short-lived as the Rainbow Warriors won consecutive points to restore their lead. This led to another timeout by the Nittany Lions. Hawaii continued to increase its lead after the timeout as it won three of the next four points to take a 22-18 lead.

Both teams exchanged points before an attack error by Kuhns gave the Rainbow Warriors five set point opportunities. Hawaii capitalized on this opportunity as an attack error by Gaige Gabriel allowed it to win the first set 25-19 after having an 11-3 deficit earlier in the set.

The Nittany Lions once again got off to a fast start as they won three of the first four points in the second set. Both teams traded service errors before the Rainbow Warriors went on a 3-0 run to take a 5-4 lead. On the next point, Penn State tied the set at five, but the deadlock was short-lived as Hawaii went on another 3-0 run to take a three-point lead, forcing a timeout by the Nittany Lions.

After the timeout, Penn State refused to go away as it won five of the next eight points to get within one of Hawaii’s lead. Both teams traded points before a kill by Gabriel tied the set at 12. The Rainbow Warriors won consecutive points to regain the lead. However, their lead was short-lived as the Nittany Lions went on a 4-0 run to take a 16-14 lead which led to a timeout by Hawaii.

Penn State started to seize its momentum after the timeout as it won four of the next six points to increase its lead to four. This forced the Rainbow Warriors to use their final timeout of the set. Both teams traded blows for the next six points after the timeout before a kill by Kuhns gave the Nittany Lions five set points.

However, the Rainbow Warriors refused to give up and recorded back-to-back kills to save two set points. This forced Pavlik to take a timeout in hopes of his team regaining its focus to close out the set. This timeout paid off as Luoma recorded a kill on the next point that allowed Penn State to win the second set 25-21 and head into the third set at one set apiece.

Luoma's 11th kill is set point and we're tied 1-1 in the match!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/EcpvXZhoc6

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) May 8, 2025

Both teams exchanged the first six points of the third set before back-to-back kills by Hawaii gave it a two-point lead. The Nittany Lions responded with a 3-0 run before an attack error by Michael Schwob tied the set at six. The deadlock stayed intact for the next two points, but it was broken right after as Penn State recorded three consecutive kills to take a 10-7 lead.

However, the Rainbow Warriors went on a 3-0 run of their own to tie the set at 10. They started to gain some momentum as they went on to win five of the next eight points to take a two-point lead heading into the media timeout.

Out of the media timeout, both teams traded blows for the next 10 points as Hawaii’s two-point lead stayed intact. On the next point, Louis Sakanoko recorded a service ace to increase the Rainbow Warriors’ lead to three and forced the Nittany Lions to take a timeout.

This timeout paid dividends for Penn State as it won three of the next four points to decrease its deficit to one which led to a timeout by Hawaii. After the timeout, Luoma’s kill tied the set at 22. However, Hawaii responded with consecutive points to give it two set points. This forced Pavlik to take a timeout.

The Nittany Lions managed to save a set point after the timeout on a block by Gabriel and Luoma. However, Hawaii refused to let this opportunity slip away as Nusterer’s kill allowed it to win a critical third set 25-23 to take a 2-1 set lead heading into the fourth set.

Penn State refused to let losing the third set deter it and got off to a fast start in the fourth set by winning five of the first six points. Both teams exchanged points before Hawaii went on a 4-0 run to tie the set at six. This deadlock was broken right away as the Nittany Lions responded with a 3-0 run to restore their lead.

However, the Rainbow Warriors showed their resilience as they won four of the next five points to tie the set at 10. Penn State refused to give Hawaii any sort of momentum as it won three of the next four points to take a two-point lead. Both teams exchanged the next four points before heading into the media timeout.

After the media timeout, both teams traded blows for four points as Penn State’s lead stayed intact. Then, Schwob’s service error and Sakanoko’s ace allowed the Rainbow Warriors to tie the set at 17, forcing Pavlik to take a timeout.

Both teams went back and forth for the next eight points as the deadlock stayed intact. On the next point, Kearney’s attack error gave the Nittany Lions a 22-21 lead, which forced Hawaii to take a timeout. This timeout paid huge dividends as the Rainbow Warriors won back-to-back points to regain the lead. This led to a timeout by Penn State in hopes of keeping its season alive.

Out of the timeout, Justin Todd and Sakanoko recorded a huge block for Hawaii to give it two match-point opportunities. Kuhns’ kill saved the first match point which forced the Rainbow Warriors to use their final timeout. However, Hawaii refused to let this opportunity slip away and Todd recorded a kill that closed out the fourth set 25-23.

Takeaways

• For the second consecutive year, the Nittany Lions could not advance past the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. They will rue wasting an 11-3 lead in the first set as Hawaii come all the way back to win the first set. Even though the Nittany Lions won the second set, they could’ve gone into the third set with a two-set lead instead of one set apiece which could’ve changed the outcome of this match as the Rainbow Warriors won the final two sets.
• Despite being evenly matched in almost every category, service aces and reception errors played a huge factor in determining the outcome of this match. Hawaii had 10 aces compared to Penn State’s four, and the Rainbow Warriors had four reception errors compared to Penn State’s 10.
• Despite the loss, Luoma and Kuhns’s performances cannot go unnoticed as the duo recorded 28 of the team’s 48 kills. Most of the starters will come back next year so this team has a lot of potential heading into next season.

What’s Next?

Penn State’s season has officially come to an end.