No. 15 Penn State men’s volleyball (7-4, 1-0 EIVA) outlasted Princeton (2-5, 0-2 EIVA) 3-2 on Friday night at Dillon Gymnasium in Princeton, New Jersey.

After sweeping Princeton in the 2025 EIVA Championship, the Nittany Lions looked like they were headed for that result again tonight after taking the first two sets with relative ease. However, Penn State dropped sets three and four and fought to secure the fifth set to earn its first EIVA victory of the season.

How It Happened

Penn State opened the first set of the night with a kill from Sean Harvey. Immediately after, Harvey committed an attack error, allowing Princeton to tie it up, but he and Gage Gabriel logged a pair of kills to take back a 3-1 lead for Penn State.

After both sides traded kills, Princeton took three straight points to knot it at 5-5. The pendulum swung back toward the Nittany Lions as they went on a 4-0 scoring run that featured back-to-back blocks by Jaidyn Bethel. An ace by Matthew Luoma put Penn State up 11-6, but Princeton stayed in chase by taking five of the next seven points.

Out of a media timeout, Penn State rattled off three kills courtesy of Gabriel, Bethel, and Luoma, forcing Princeton to take a timeout trailing 18-14.

The Nittany Lions reached the 20s on a service error by the Tigers and continued to climb toward a first-set victory with kills from Harvey and Tristan Hassell. An attack error by Princeton put Penn State up 24-18, where Hassell plastered the set-winning kill.

Princeton took the first point of the second set after Owen Rose couldn’t dig out the ball, but Luoma answered with a kill. Penn State’s net defense tightened, as Gabriel, Rose, and Bethel all logged stuffs to give the blue and white a 6-3 lead.

Princeton narrowed the gap by capitalizing on Penn State’s self-inflicted errors in service and at the net, eventually taking an 8-7 lead on an attack error by Luoma. Gabriel stuffed a short set from Princeton to take a 10-9 lead. Harvey added to the lead with an ace, but immediately served it into the net on the next play to flip possession back to the Tigers.

Both squads traded punches until Penn State climbed out to a 20-17 lead. The Tigers clawed back, taking four of the next five points to knot it up at 21-21. Still, Penn State dug in, finding kills from Bethel and Luoma as well as a block from Gabriel to move it to set point. Andrew Warner kept Princeton alive with a kill, but he committed a crucial service error that gifted Penn State the final point needed to take set two 25-22.

Princeton whiffed on its first attack of the third set, handing Penn State an early 1-0 lead. The blue and white built on that with kills from Luoma and Harvey. Princeton answered with a 4-0 scoring run to go up 8-5. Bethel plastered a kill to bring Penn State within two points, but Princeton was motivated to keep its night alive with a third-set win. Princeton sustained its 15-11 lead with kills by Werner and Ambrose Engling.

Penn State lost its footing mid-way through the third set, as Princeton took a 20-15 lead. Hassell logged a kill and an ace to cut into the 21-18 lead, forcing Princeton to call a timeout.

Out of the break, Harvey landed a kill, but Princeton answered with one of its own. Engling continued his dominant set, landing his eighth kill on eleven swings to put Princeton up 23-20. Back-to-back kills by Harvey and Bethel inched Penn State within one point and forced Princeton to call its final timeout.

Bennett Wilson committed a devastating service error to move Princeton to set point, where a kill from Owen Mellon secured the third set 25-23.

Hassell and Gabriel combined for a block to open the fourth set, but the unrelenting Tigers took the next four points. Penn State responded with kills from Gabriel, Rose, and Hassell to cut into the 7-5 Tiger lead. Three more points poured in for the Nittany Lions, tying it at 9-9. Rose landed a ferocious kill to keep Penn State within two points.

Princeton turned it over on a service error out of the media break, leading to an ace from Bethel. Princeton battled back with a kill by Engling and a block on Harvey to take a 19-16 lead.

Gabriel stuffed a Tiger at the net, but down 21-18, there was no room for error, and that proved to be true as Princeton closed out the fourth set 25-22.

Penn State and Princeton split the first six points of the do-or-die set. The Nittany Lions broke the tie with a gorgeous pass from Michael Schwob that set up Bethel for a kill. Schwob continued to dish out assists on kills from Harvey and Gabriel to take a 7-3 lead. Gabriel stuffed a Tiger at the net and immediately turned to amp up his team. Finally, Princeton ended the 6-0 Nittany Lion run with a kill from Tristan Whitfield, but Harvey immediately responded with a kill to go up 10-4.

The Tigers’ meltdown continued into service, where they served into the net and then surrendered an ace to Hassell. Rose stuffed Jeremiah Aro at the net to move it to match point.

At last, Penn State secured a 15-11 fifth-set victory on a kill by the red-hot Harvey.

Takeaways

• Tristan Hassell was lethal down the stretch of the first set. He logged three kills in the final eight points, propelling Penn State to an early 1-0 lead.
• Service errors were problematic for Penn State, committing 17 on the night.
• Sean Harvey swung Penn State to victory tonight. The redshirt sophomore logged a career-high 22 kills on 40 total attacks. When Penn State needed offense, Harvey delivered.

What’s Next?

Penn State will play the second match of its two-game series against Princeton on Saturday, February 14, at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.