No. 13 Penn State men’s volleyball (3-0, 0-0 EIVA) swept St. Thomas Aquinas (1-3, 0-0 ECC) 3-0 on Thursday night at Rec Hall.

After the Nittany Lions swept Manhattan on Saturday, they made it two sweeps in a row, beating St. Thomas Aquinas. Gaige Gabriel led the Nittany Lions with 10 kills, and Sean Harvey had three aces in this sweep.

How It Happened

Penn State won the first point on an attack error by Kyran Versteegan. St. Thomas Aquinas quickly earned two points of their own on kills by David Weiss and Sean Harvey. Penn State tied the score at two on a service error by Owen Rose.

The teams continued to exchange blows for the next 12 points until a service error and back-to-back attack errors by the Spartans gave Penn State an 11-8 lead. A service error by Rose brought the lead back down to two, but a kill by Matthew Luoma earned the point right back.

Penn State kept its three-point lead intact for the next four points before an ace by Gaige Gabriel and a kill by Rose extended the lead to five. St. Thomas Aquinas quickly brought the lead back down to three, but the Nittany Lions won three points in a row to take a 19-13 lead.

After a kill by Luis Grath brought the lead back to five, the Nittany Lions won two points in a row to go up 14-21. After the Spartans won the next two points, the teams traded blows until a kill by Gabriel gave Penn State a set point. An attack error by Carter Dittman gave the Spartans another chance, but a service error by Jakob Schwarz gave the Nittany Lions a 25-19 first-set win.

Gabriel put some power behind this one#WeAre pic.twitter.com/KXzNND1p8c

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) January 16, 2026

St. Thomas Aquinas won the first point of the second set on a kill by Schwarz. Penn State tied it on a kill by Sean Harvey, but another kill by Schwarz gave the lead right back to the Spartans. Penn State won three of the next four points to take the lead, but St. Thomas Aquinas quickly tied it again with a kill by Grath.

Penn State won five of the next seven points to take a 9-6 lead. A kill by Schwarz brought the Spartans back within two, but a kill by Rose and an attack error by Schwarz extended the Nittany Lions’ lead to four.

The Spartans won three straight points, shrinking the lead to one. A kill by Gabriel brought the lead back to two. The teams traded the next 12 points with Penn State maintaining its two-point lead until a kill by Harvey gave the Nittany Lions a 16-19 lead.

Penn State won three of the next four points on kills by Harvey, Luoma and Rose, extending the lead to four and forcing St. Thomas Aquinas to use a timeout.

After the timeout, an attack error by Tapper gave the Nittany Lions an 18-23 lead. St. Thomas Aquinas earned the next point on a kill by Alan Santiago, but a kill by Harvey gave Penn State a set point. After an attack error by Dittman, Penn State took the 25-20 second set win on a kill by Luoma.

Luoma kill ends set two!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/SpZl7lneqD

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) January 16, 2026

St. Thomas Aquinas took the first two points of the third set on a kill by David Weiss and an attack error by Luoma. The Nittany Lions roared back, winning five straight points, including back-to-back aces by Harvey. After a kill by Tapper ended the Nittany Lions’ win streak, there were three straight service errors before an ace by Luoma gave Penn State an 8-4 lead.

The teams traded the next four points before a kill by Gabriel and an attack error by Tapper extended the Penn State lead to six points. The Spartans got one back on a service error by Rose, but the Nittany Lions won the next four straight, highlighted by a block assist by Gabriel and Harvey, to take a commanding 16-7 lead.

The Spartans won a point on a service error by Michael Schwob, but the Nittany Lions won three straight, including an ace by Harvey, to go up 19-8. The next five points were all service errors.

The service error streak ended on an attack error by Tristan Hassell, but Penn State won three of the next four points to get a set point. After a service error by Zach Stowe, Grath committed a service error to give Penn State the 25-14 third set win and the sweep.

Takeaways

• After a 0-7 start last season, there’s no place the Nittany Lions would rather be than 3-0 with back-to-back sweeps.
• Gaige Gabriel led the Nittany Lions in kills with 10, Sean Harvey had 9, and Matthew Luoma had 8. St. Thomas Aquinas had just 25 kills as a team.
• The Nittany Lions had six aces, including three by Harvey. There were no aces scored against Penn State.

What’s Next?

Penn State will wrap up its four-match homestand, taking on Lewis at Rec Hall at 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 17. Fans can follow along with the action on BTN+.