No. 10 Penn State men’s volleyball (4-2, 0-0 EIVA) was defeated by No. 15 McKendree (4-2, 0-0 MIVA) 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Melvin Price Convocation Center. The Nittany Lions lost both games in the series, falling to McKendree Friday night, 3-0. 

How It Happened:

Miller Trubey set the tone early, opening the match with a service ace. A pair of McKendree attack errors quickly gave Penn State a 3-0 advantage, and Trubey followed with a kill to keep the Nittany Lions rolling. A Penn State service error put McKendree on the board, and Sam Hoskin answered with a kill for the Bearcats. Service errors on both sides kept the score tight; McKendree’s Tyler Tripp’s kill evened things at 5-5.

Owen Rose and Sean Harvey teamed up for a block, but Tripp added another kill for McKendree. Will Kilmek delivered a service ace to give the Bearcats their first lead of the set at 7-6. The teams traded kills from there, with Harvey answering for Penn State and Hoskin responding for McKendree. Tripp continued to be a force at the net, pushing the Bearcats ahead 10-7 and forcing Penn State into a timeout.

Out of the break, Trubey scored with a tip into the block, and Bethel, who made his way into the Penn State starting lineup, added a kill. Tripp’s fourth kill of the set kept the Bearcats in front, 12-10. Trubey fired a cross-court shot for Penn State, but back-to-back attacks from Hoskin and a service ace from Rolen Lively stretched the Bearcat lead to 15-11.

Penn State answered with a triple block from Trubey, Rose, and Bethel, and a shot from Trubey. After the teams traded service errors, McKendree held a 17-14 lead. Tripp found block hands for a kill, and another Hoskin service ace forced Penn State to burn a second timeout with the Bearcats up 19-14.

Kilmek and Bryce Wetjen combined for a block, but consecutive service and attack errors brought Penn State within three at 20-17. Wetjen responded with a hard swing to the back row. Harvey kept the Nittany Lions alive by finding the back corner, but Wetjen struck again, and a block from Lively and Tripp pushed McKendree ahead 23-19. Wetjen closed out the set with a kill, McKendree winning the set 25-20.

The second set opened with service errors from both teams. The first clean point of the frame came from McKendree’s Tripp. Rose delivered a service ace, and a kill from Harvey forced an early McKendree timeout as the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 7-3 lead.

Tripp continued to produce for the Bearcats, but Gabriel answered for Penn State with a shot down the middle. Penn State led 9-5, Bethel swinging off the block, and Trubey kept Penn State in control with a shot to the back corner. Gabriel fired a service ace and a Bearcat error capped a 4–0 run, stretching the lead to 14-6. Wetjen answered with a kill for McKendree, Bethel hit off the block for a 16-9 advantage.

McKendree struggled to find rhythm offensively, committing several attack errors that allowed Penn State to widen the gap to 17-9. Jack Morikawa landed a service ace, prompting a Penn State timeout at 17-12. Out of the break, Gabriel and Herr combined for a block, and another Bearcat service error, their fourth of the set, pushed the Nittany Lions ahead 20-13.

Lively ended McKendree’s scoring drought with a kill, but Penn State quickly answered with back-to-back kills from Harvey and Gabriel to take a commanding 22-14 lead. Tripp added another kill for McKendree, but Trubey responded with one of his own to bring Penn State to set point at 24-16. A pair of Penn State attack errors narrowed the gap to 24-19, forcing a late Nittany Lion timeout. Penn State closed out the set moments later, capitalizing on a McKendree service error to secure the 25-19 win. 

Hoskin got McKendree off to a fast start in the third set, opening the scoring with a kill. Trubey quickly answered for Penn State, tipping the ball over the block, but Hoskin responded right back with another clean swing. Hoskin stayed hot early, recording his third kill of the set before Gabriel landed a roll shot, tying the score at 4-4. 

Trubey found the back line for a kill, but McKendree scored back-to-back kills to pull ahead 7-5. Penn State responded with a shot from Gabriel out of the middle, followed by Trubey using the block for another point. Hoskin kept the Bearcats in front with a kill, and Lively followed with a service ace to extend the lead. 

Bethel answered with a swing to keep Penn State within two, 9-11. The teams exchanged points through a stretch of service and attack errors. A Harvey kill kept the Nittany Lions within striking distance at 14-12. McKendree then created separation with a Wetjen kill and a Penn State attack error, the Bearcats leading 16-12.

Penn State stayed in the set with consecutive kills from Rose and Bethel, tying the score at 17-17. The set swung back to McKendree as two Nittany Lion offensive errors put the Bearcats back in front, and a Tripp kill forced Penn State to call a timeout, trailing 21-18. Both teams traded kills down the stretch, but Penn State could not close the gap, still facing a three-point deficit at 23-20. Wetjen scored off the block to give McKendree a 25–22 victory in the third.

Trubey struck early to kick off the fourth set for the Nittany Lions. Rose followed with an ace as Penn State inched ahead 4-3. Harvey then drove a shot down the line, but Tripp responded with back-to-back kills.

Gabriel added two kills for Penn State, and Rose added a shot to the back row to knot the score at 9-9. Trubey continued his strong night, tallying his 11th kill of the match, and Rose found an open seam. However, after two McKendree kills and a Penn State attack error, the Nittany Lions were forced to call a timeout trailing 15-11.

The Bearcats had an attack error and a service error before Harvey delivered a kill, causing McKendree to take a timeout with its lead trimmed to 16-15. The Bearcats responded immediately, notching back-to-back kills out of the timeout and forcing another Penn State timeout with McKendree ahead 19–15.

The Nittany Lions pushed late, Bethel and Harvey attacking cut the deficit to two. Tristan Hassell entered the match and made an immediate impact, delivering a big swing that forced a Bearcat timeout at 20-19. Hassell stayed hot with another kill, Harvey found the backline, and Bethel delivered an ace to tie the set at 23-23.

In the closing moments, Lively scored out of the middle to give McKendree set point at 25-24, but Rose answered with a clutch kill to keep Penn State alive. Hoskin then landed a swing for the Bearcats, though a McKendree attack error tied the score once again at 26-26. McKendree closed the door moments later, as kills from Lively and Hoskin sealed a 28-26 win, securing both the set and the match.

Takeaways:

• Sean Harvey led all Nittany Lions with 12 kills on 40 attempts, with a .150 hitting percentage. Miller Trubey followed closely with 11 kills on 28 swings (.179). While both were productive scorers, Penn State often needed multiple swings to finish rallies. 

• Penn State finished with the match 18 service errors. While Penn State did land five aces, the inconsistency at the service line proved to be a struggle in close sets.

• Owen Rose had a solid stat line that showed consistency with 4 kills on 7 attempts (.429) along with three service aces and three block assists. Continuing to have Rose involved will be crucial as his efficiency has held strong.  

What’s Next?

Penn State will look to defend home court against Hawaii in a two-game series. The series opener will be at 6 p.m. on Friday, January 30, and will be the Nittany Lions’ White Out game in Rec Hall. This series will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.