No. 14 Penn State men’s volleyball (4-3, 0-0 EIVA) suffered its third consecutive loss as it was swept 3-0 by No. 3 Hawaii (8-1, 0-0 Big West) on Friday night at Rec Hall in its annual White Out match. The Nittany Lions have now lost four straight matches against the Rainbow Warriors, with their last win dating back to 2023.

In a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament quarterfinal, Hawaii was not deterred in its first-ever regular-season visit to Rec Hall as it won the first set by a margin of three points. It held a commanding 16-7 lead halfway through the second set, but Penn State, fueled by its White Out environment, came back to tie the set at 22. However, the Nittany Lions could not complete the comeback as the Rainbow Warriors won the second set 25-23, and cruised to a sweep in the third set.

How It Happened

The first set got underway with Hawaii winning the first point on a kill by Kainoa Wade before a service error put Penn State on the board. The Rainbow Warriors responded after the error as they went on a 3-0 run. After Gaige Gabriel’s kill ended the run, Hawaii extended its lead to four with back-to-back points.

Both teams traded blows for the next eight points as Hawaii’s four-point lead stayed intact. However, the Nittany Lions, fueled by the Rec Hall environment, trimmed their deficit to one with a 3-0 run. This run was highlighted with a service ace and a kill by Owen Rose, along with a kill by Gabriel. On the next point, Penn State could not tie it at 10 as Rose committed a service error.

The Rainbow Warriors’ lead stayed intact for the next four points until a kill by Sean Harvey and an attack error by Wade allowed the Nittany Lions to tie the set at 13. After Wade’s kill restored Hawaii’s lead, Rose recorded a kill on the next point before a service ace by Matthew Luoma gave Penn State its first lead of the set at 15-14 heading into the media timeout.

This media timeout paid huge dividends to the Rainbow Warriors as they took a three-point lead due to a 4-0 run. This forced Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to use his first timeout. Hawaii’s run came to an end after the timeout due to Sean Harvey’s kill. Both teams exchanged the next four points until Luoma’s kill got Penn State within one of tying the set at 20.

However, the Nittany Lions could not capitalize as Michael Schwob committed a service error. They committed an attack error on the next point, but Penn State decreased its deficit to one once again with back-to-back points.

Once again, the Rainbow Warriors refused to be deterred as they responded with a kill and service ace to give themselves three set points. This led the Nittany Lions to take their final timeout of the set. Luoma’s kill after the timeout kept Penn State alive in the set, but on the next point, Hawaii clinched the first set 25-22 on a kill by Adrien Roure.

The Rainbow Warriors got off to a fast start in the second set, winning four of the first five points. After Luoma recorded a kill on the next point, Hawaii continued to pull away as it won three of the next four points to take an early 7-3 lead, forcing the Nittany Lions to take a timeout in hopes of cooling off the Rainbow Warriors’ momentum.

Out of the timeout, Wade recorded a service ace to extend Hawaii’s lead to five. Penn State started to show signs of life as it won three of the next four points to cut its deficit to three. However, the Rainbow Warriors started to pull away as they won seven of the next eight points to take a commanding 16-7 lead.

Both teams traded the next four points until Harvey’s kill and Wade’s attack error decreased Penn State’s deficit to seven. Despite Wade redeeming himself on the next point with a kill, the Nittany Lions started to claw their way back into the set as they won three of the next four points to get within six of Hawaii’s lead.

After Jordan Trevell’s kill gave the Rainbow Warriors a 21-14 lead, Penn State refused to go away as it won five of the next six points to trim the deficit to three. This run was highlighted with kills by Carter Dittman and Harvey, along with a service ace by Rose, which forced Hawaii to take its first timeout of the match.

The Nittany Lions continued to seize their momentum after the timeout, as they tied the set at 22 with a 3-0 run. This led the Rainbow Warriors to use another timeout in hopes of avoiding a major collapse. This timeout paid off for Hawaii as it recorded back-to-back kills to give it two set-point opportunities. Pavlik used his final timeout of the set right after.

Penn State saved the first set-point with a kill by Harvey. However, Hawaii refused to relinquish its lead and capitalized on its second set point with a kill by Justin Todd. This put the Nittany Lions in a two-set deficit heading into the third set as the Rainbow Warriors squeaked out the second set victory 25-23.

Hawaii carried its momentum from winning the second set into the third as it won the first four points of the set, forcing Penn State to take an early timeout. After the timeout, both teams exchanged the next four points before consecutive points by the Nittany Lions cut their deficit to two.

The Rainbow Warriors responded by winning three of the next four points that allowed them to take a 9-5 lead. Both teams traded the next eight points until a kill by Gabriel trimmed Penn State’s deficit to three. However, Hawaii started to pull away as it went on a 3-0 run to increase its lead to six, which led the Nittany Lions to use their final timeout of the set.

The run came to an end after the timeout due to a service error by Finn Kearney. However, the Rainbow Warriors continued to run away with the set as they won four of the next five points to increase their lead to eight. After a kill by Schwob on the next point, Hawaii won four of the next five points to take a double-digit lead and give it match point.

Harvey saved the first match point with a kill, but on the next point, Schwob committed a service error that allowed the Rainbow Warriors to win the third set 25-15 and cap off the sweep.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s struggles continued as it has now lost three matches in a row after starting the season 4-0. It struggled to be effective as it had a hitting percentage of .211 and committed 28 service and attack errors combined.
• Despite the sweep, Hawaii had to fight hard for it as it won the first two sets by five points combined before running away in the third. Every time the momentum was swinging in favor of Penn State, it always responded to adversity and was clutch in the big moments.
• The supporting cast of Sean Harvey struggled today as it recorded 18 of the team’s 30 kills. Harvey led the Nittany Lions with 12 kills, with Gabriel having the second-most with six kills. Others will need to step up alongside Harvey if Penn State wants to snap its losing streak.

What’s Next?

Penn State will play its second match of a two-match series against No. 3 Hawaii at 5 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, as it looks to avoid its fourth consecutive loss. The match will be streamed on BTN+.