No. 13 Penn State men’s volleyball (2-0, 0-0 EIVA) swept Manhattan (0-1, 0-0 NEC) 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at Rec Hall South Gym. The Nittany Lions have gotten off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2024.

After the Nittany Lions won their season opener against Mount Olive yesterday, they followed it up with a sweep over the Jaspers, who were playing in their first volleyball match in program history. Sean Harvey led the Nittany Lions with 14 kills in this sweep.

How It Happened

Penn State won the first two points of the match on a kill by Sean Harvey and an attack error by Manhattan’s Max Larchied. On the next point, Michael Schwob committed an attack error as the Jaspers won their first-ever point in program history.

After Matthew Luoma’s kill restored the Nittany Lions’ two-point lead, Manhattan tied the set up at three with a kill by Kasen Owens and an attack error by Luoma. Penn State reestablished its lead by winning three of the next four points. However, once again, the two-point lead was short-lived as the Jaspers responded with consecutive points to tie the set at six.

The Nittany Lions won three of the next four points to take another two-point lead. Manhattan tied the set at nine with a kill by Larcheid and an ace by Wojtek Nowak. Both teams traded kills before back-to-back kills by Gaige Gabriel allowed Penn State to take a 12-10 lead. On the next point, Perkins’ kill got the Jaspers within one, but Penn State refused to relinquish its lead this time as a kill by Harvey and an ace by Gabriel allowed it to extend its lead to three.

However, the Nittany Lions could not pull away as Manhattan responded by winning three of the next four points to trim its deficit to one. Penn State returned the favor as it won three of the next four points to take an 18-15 lead. Both teams went back and forth for the next six points before an ace by Gabriel got the Nittany Lions within three points of taking the first set. This led the Jaspers to use their first timeout.

Out of the timeout, Manhattan won two of the next three points until a service error by Kai Patchell gave Penn State a set point. The Jaspers saved the first set point on a kill by Nowak, but on their second opportunity, the Nittany Lions capitalized on a solo block by Owen Rose to close out the first set 25-21.

Rose solo block to end set one!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/1SeAGqljsQ

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) January 10, 2026

The second set got underway with a kill by Owens before a kill by Gabriel got Penn State on the board. Both teams exchanged the next four points before back-to-back kills by Schwob gave the Nittany Lions an early two-point lead. Errors were exchanged by both teams, and on the next point, Harvey recorded a kill that extended Penn State’s lead to three.

After Owens’ kill got Manhattan within two, the Nittany Lions took a 9-5 lead on a kill by Schwob and an ace by Rose. Both teams traded blows for the next 10 points as Penn State’s four-point lead stayed intact. The back-and-forth affair was wagered on for the next six points until an attack error by Perkins gave the Nittany Lions an 18-13 lead.

7 kills on 8 swings for Harvey!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/bW2ebFQCgc

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) January 10, 2026

Schwob committed a service error on the next point. Despite this, Penn State started to pull away as it won four of the next five points to increase its lead to seven. This run was highlighted with kills by Luoma and Harvey, along with a block assist by Luoma and Rose, leading the Jaspers to take a timeout.

Gabriel committed a service error after the timeout, but the Nittany Lions started to get aggressive on the attack as Carter Dittman and Harvey recorded consecutive kills to give themselves set point. Unlike the first set, they converted on their first set point opportunity as Luoma’s ace gave the Nittany Lions a 25-16 second set win.

Penn State got off to a fast start in the third set as it won three of the first four points. Manhattan responded with back-to-back points to tie the set up at three. Both teams traded the next four points until an attack error by Rose gave the Jaspers their first set lead of the match. However, the Jaspers’ lead was short-lived as the Nittany Lions won four of the next five points to take a 9-7 lead.

Manhattan trimmed its deficit to one by winning two of the next three points, but Penn State responded with consecutive kills. However, the Jaspers refused to go away and went on a 3-0 run to tie the set at 12. The Nittany Lions showed their resilience and responded with a 4-0 run to take a 16-12 lead.

Triple Block!

Herr Bethel Rose #WeAre pic.twitter.com/7Tvo7ixcmY

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) January 10, 2026

Three consecutive service errors occurred as Manhattan took advantage of two of those three errors. Harvey continued to dominate on the attack as he recorded back-to-back kills to increase Penn State’s lead to five, forcing the Jaspers to take a timeout in hopes of cooling off Penn State’s momentum.

This timeout paid huge dividends for Manhattan as it won four of the next five points to decrease its deficit to two. On the next point, Jadyn Bethel recorded a huge kill for the Nittany Lions to get them within four points of completing the sweep. This kill gave them a lot of momentum as they went on to win consecutive points to take a 23-18 lead.

After Chase Marston’s kill ended Penn State’s 3-0 run, Bethel’s kill gave the Nittany Lions match point. The Jaspers saved the first match point on a kill by Marston, but he committed a service error on the next point, allowing Penn State to complete the sweep with a 25-20 set victory.

Takeaways

• After starting last season 0-7, the Nittany Lions have gotten off to a better start this season as they have won their first two matches of the season convincingly. They have the potential to be contenders this season in Mark Pavlik’s final season.
• Despite the sweep, Manhattan played well in its first volleyball match in program history. They stayed competitive against the Nittany Lions throughout all three sets, but they couldn’t withstand Penn State’s elite attack that recorded 38 kills.
• Once again, Sean Harvey led the Nittany Lions in kills. After he recorded 13 kills in the season opener, he followed it up with 14 kills today. Along with that, he was very effective as he had a hitting percentage of .667 and committed two errors on 18 attacks. It looks like he will be the main star on this Penn State team.

What’s Next?

Penn State will continue its four-match homestand as it will take on St. Thomas Aquinas at Rec Hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 15. The match will be streamed on BTN+.