Penn State men’s volleyball opened its season with a 3-1 win over Mount Olive Friday night. Sean Harvey tallied 13 kills on the night, Miller Trubey added 10, and Owen Rose had six blocks for the Nittany Lions.  

How It Happened

Miller Trubey opened up set one with a kill, and Gage Gabriel added one of his own to give the Nittany Lions an early 2-0 lead. Maksim Kazanov swung hard to put Mount Olive on the board. Trubey struck for another kill, followed by a solo block. Carter Dittman got in on the action as well, but a kill-block sequence by Mount Olive tied the set at 6-6.

Harvey and Dittman stayed strong on the attack, the Lions keeping a short lead of 11-9. A Sean Harvey backrow attack and a Mount Olive foot fault gave Penn State the 17-15 edge. The Lions and Trojans traded kills, but back-to-back swings by Gabriel kept Penn State ahead by two.

Christos Savvidis ended the Penn State run, and Matthew Ekberg added a 5-foot line slam. Trubey’s sixth kill and a Schwob-Rose block ended set one and gave the Nittany Lions the 25-20 win.  

Harvey started set two with a solo block, and Trubey added a shot down the line, but a net violation and a Mount Olive kill tied it up 2-2. Kory Grant dominated set two for Mount Olive, starting with a strong attack down the line. A kill by Owen Rose and a triple block pushed the Lions ahead 6-4.

Mount Olive’s middle blocker Matthew Ekberg owned the block throughout the match, racking up his second of the set. Another attack by Trubey and Michael Schwob’s save and monstrous block pushed the Lions ahead 10-7. Solid defense and a Trubey kill forced a Mount Olive timeout.

Several attack and service errors by the Trojans gave the Lions an 18-11 lead. Rose tallied a solo block, forcing a Mount Olive timeout at 21-11. Trubey snagged an ace, but Grant began a 7-0 Trojan run with an ace, followed by another Ekberg block.

Grant then tallied another ace, and Lion errors forced Penn State to call a timeout at 23-17. A kill by Olszewski and another Grant service ace forced another Nittany Lion timeout, leading 23-20. Schwob took control with two kills, ending in another 25-20 set, and gave the Lions the 2-0 advantage.

Matthew Luoma opened the scoring with a kill for the Lions’ first point of the set. Kazanov and Harvey then traded kills, giving the Trojans a 7-5 advantage. After a slow start, back-to-back attacks by Rose trimmed the deficit to one.

Consecutive Penn State attack errors, followed by an Ekberg service ace, pushed Mount Olive ahead 14-10. An additional Lions hitting error and an Ekberg kill out of the timeout extended the Trojans’ lead to 16-10.

A service error briefly ended the run, but Mount Olive quickly recovered with swings from Kazanov and Ekberg. Kazanov’s tenth kill of the night stretched the lead to 20-13. Rose answered with consecutive middle attacks, though the Lions still trailed 22-15.

Jaidyn Bethel recorded his first career kill, followed by a Harvey kill and a block by Gabriel, prompting a Lions timeout with Mount Olive leading 23–19. Savvidos sealed the set with a kill, securing the 25–20 win for the Trojans.

Jaxon Herr got things started in the fourth set with a service ace, followed by a Harvey kill. Two Mount Olive errors extended the Lions’ early lead before Ekberg answered with a kill. Bethel and Rose added attacks to push Penn State out to a 7-3 lead.

Savvidos stopped the run with a powerful swing, but Harvey responded to make it 9-5. Two more Trojan errors forced a Mount Olive timeout. Out of the break, Rose delivered a service ace. Ekberg scored through the block, and Kazanov followed with an ace, but the Trojans still trailed 12-7.

Ekberg continued his strong showing at the net to make it 14–9. Gabriel and Ekberg traded kills before a Luoma swing landed, and a Rose block prompted another Mount Olive timeout with Penn State ahead 17–10. Bethel added a cross-court kill, Harvey scored on a roll shot, and Gabriel followed with a deep shot to extend the lead to 20–14.

Luoma struck again, and Rose added a kill, putting Penn State at match point. Ekberg and Kazanov kept the pressure on, delivering a collective 25 kills and seven blocks on the night, but a successful challenge overturned the final call, sealing the match win for Penn State.

Takeaways

• Harvey and Trubey opened the season strong with aggressive offensive play, positioning themselves as key offensive leaders moving forward.
• The team recorded 17 service errors on the night, including seven in the third-set loss, allowing Mount Olive to capitalize and force a fourth set. Reducing errors from the service line will create extended runs for the offense.
• The triple block proved to be a force for the Nittany Lions, being used quite often through the matchup and contributing to the 11 blocks on the night.

What’s Next?

Head Coach Mark Pavlik and his Nittany Lions will be back in Rec Hall at 3 p.m. on Saturday against the Manhattan Jaspers on Big Ten Plus.