No. 16 Penn State men’s volleyball (10-4, 4-0 EIVA) swept Harvard (2-9, 0-4 EIVA) in a two-match series that was played on Friday night and Saturday afternoon at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions have now six straight games and four straight in EIVA Conference play.

The Nittany Lions swept the Crimson in the first match of the series as six players on Penn State recorded two or more kills. They won two of the three sets by double-digits.

In the second match, Penn State extended its set streak to four as it won the first set, but unlike the first match, Harvard won the second set to end the streak and tie the match at one set apiece. However, the Nittany Lions responded dominantly as they won the last two sets by six or more points. The trio of Tristan Hassell, Sean Harvey, and Jadyn Bethel combined for 37 of the team’s 45 kills in this win.

First Match

Both teams exchanged the first eight points of the first set before an attack error by Tristan Hassell gave Harvard the lead. Penn State responded with a 3-0 run to take a 7-5 lead. After the Crimson tied it at seven, the Nittany Lions went on another 3-0 run to break the tie.

Even though Penn State’s run ended on the next point, it continued to increase its lead as it went on another 3-0 run. This led the Crimson to take their first timeout as the Nittany Lions held a 13-8 lead. Harvard could not stop the bleeding after the timeout as Penn State won four consecutive points to increase its run to seven and extend its lead to nine, forcing another Harvard timeout.

Harvey committed a service error on the set point, but on Penn State’s second set point, the favor was returned as Quinn Bishop committed a service error that allowed the Nittany Lions to close out a dominant first set 25-11.

Harvard got off to a fast start in the second set as it won three of the first four points. Both teams traded blows for the next eight points before back-to-back points by Penn State tied the set up at seven. The deadlock was broken quickly as the Crimson restored their two-point lead by winning three of the next four points.

However, Harvard’s lead was short-lived as the Nittany Lions went on a 3-0 run to take their first lead of the set. The Crimson responded by winning three of the next four points before a kill by Hassell tied the set at 13. Penn State won the next two points as it held a 15-13 lead heading into the media timeout.

This media timeout paid dividends for Harvard as it won four straight points to take a two-point lead, which led Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to use his first timeout of the match. The Crimson won two of the next three points to increase their lead to three, but the Nittany Lions showed their resilience as they tied the set at 19 with a 3-0 run. This led to a timeout by Harvard.

Out of the timeout, Penn State took the lead on a kill by Hassell. Both teams exchanged the next six points before the Crimson used another timeout with the Nittany Lions holding a 23-22 lead. Owen Woolbert tied at 23 for Harvard after the timeout.

The Crimson committed a service error on the next point to give Penn State a set point. Harvard saved the set point on a service error by Owen Rose. Four consecutive errors occurred right after, as the Nittany Lions took advantage of three of those four errors, which allowed them to win a close second set 27-25.

Both teams traded the first four points of the third set before a kill by Jadyn Bethel and a solo block by Gaige Gabriel gave Penn State a two-point lead. Harvard tied it at five as it won three of the next four points.

The Nittany Lions started to seize their momentum as they reeled off seven of the next eight points to take a 12-6 lead, forcing a timeout by the Crimson. Harvard won back-to-back points after the timeout before Penn State responded with three consecutive points to increase its lead to seven.

Both teams traded the next six points that allowed the Nittany Lions to take a 24-14 lead and have a match point. Penn State did not convert the first match point due to a service error by Gabriel, but it completed the sweep on a kill by Rose as it won the third set 25-15.

Second Match

Both teams traded the first eight points of the match as the deadlock stayed intact. Penn State started to pull away in the first set as it won four of the next five points to take an 8-5 lead.

The back-and-forth affair went on for the next eight points before a 3-0 run by the Nittany Lions extended their lead to six heading into the media timeout. After the media timeout, both teams traded blows for the next six points as Penn State’s six-point lead stayed intact. Harvard won back-to-back points to trim its deficit to four before the Nittany Lions returned the favor, forcing the Crimson to take a timeout.

Harvard started to show signs of life after the timeout as it went on a 3-0 run to cut its deficit to three. This led Penn State to use a timeout. This paid for Pavlik’s squad as it responded with a 3-0 run of its own to get within two points of winning the first set. Schwob committed an attack error to keep the Crimson alive in the set, but on the next point, Zach Berty committed a service error as Penn State won the first set 25-19.

Both teams traded blows for the first 10 points of the second set as neither team managed to pull away. The back-and-forth exchange continued for the next eight points before Harvard went on a 4-0 run to take a 13-9 lead and forced a Penn State timeout. The Crimson increased their run to five after the timeout, before a service error by Harvard ended it.

Harvard won three of the next five points, but the Nittany Lions started to show signs of life as they cut their deficit to two. This led to a Crimson timeout. Out of the timeout, both teams exchanged the next four points before back-to-back kills by Sawyer Nichols increased Harvard’s lead to four, forcing a Penn State timeout.

The Crimson recorded back-to-back block assists to get within two points of winning the second set. However, the Nittany Lions refused to go away as they won three consecutive points to trim their deficit to two. Harvard took a timeout right after. Hassell extended the run to four after the timeout before Rose’s service error gave the Crimson set point. Penn State saved set point on a service error, but Harvard won the second set 25-22 on a kill by Berty.

Just like the second set, both teams traded blows for the first 10 points of the third set. The back-and-forth affair continued for the next six points until back-to-back kills by Harvey gave the Nittany Lions a 10-8 lead. After Penn State extended its lead to three by winning two of the next three points, Harvard cut its deficit to one by winning three of the next four points.

The Nittany Lions won two of the next three points as they held a 15-13 lead heading into the media timeout. Out of the media timeout, Penn State started to pull away as it went on a 3-0 run to increase its lead to five. Both teams exchanged the next four points before the Crimson took a timeout.

After the timeout, the Nittany Lions won two of the next three points as they got within three points of winning the third set. This led to a Harvard timeout. This timeout did not pay off for the Crimson as Penn State closed out the third set 25-16 with three consecutive kills.

Both teams exchanged the first six points of the fourth set before the Nittany Lions won three of the next four points to take a two-point lead. The back-and-forth affair continued for the next six points as Penn State’s two-point lead stayed intact. The Nittany Lions extended their lead to four with back-to-back points.

Harvard responded by winning three of the next four points to cut its deficit to two. Both teams traded the next six points before a media timeout occurred with Penn State holding a 15-13 lead. The Nittany Lions won four of the next six points to increase their lead to four, leading to a timeout by the Crimson.

Out of the timeout, both teams traded the next six points before a service ace by Rose got the Nittany Lions within two points of closing out the match. This forced Harvard to take a timeout. After the timeout, Rose committed a service error before kills by Hassell and Bethel allowed Penn State to close out the fourth set 25-19.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions continue their hot streak as they have now won six straight matches. It was a great all-around performance in the first match as six players recorded two or more kills. In the second match, Penn State did a great job responding to losing the second set as it went on to win the third and fourth sets to complete the series sweep.
• The trio of Tristan Hassell, Sean Harvey, and Jadyn Bethel played incredibly well in the second match as they combined for 37 of the team’s 45 kills in this win. They will be crucial in helping Penn State repeat as EIVA champions.
• In the first match, the Nittany Lions dominated Harvard by winning two of the three sets by double-digits. They have dominated their competition in the EIVA as they have won three of their four matches in four or fewer sets.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return to its non-conference schedule as it will take on Merrimack at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 27, at Rec Hall. The match will be streamed on BTN+.