No. 16 Penn State men’s volleyball (11-5, 4-0 EIVA) was swept by No. 2 Long Beach (12-2) in three sets on Saturday night.

Penn State’s Owen Rose finished with six total blocks.

How It Happened

No. 16 Penn State men’s volleyball (11-5) (4-0) was swept by No. 2 Long Beach State (12-2) (0-0) in Saturday Night’s battle in California.

Despite the loss, Sean Harvey and Matthew Luoma led the team with seven kills apiece. Luoma also had nine digs on the night. Long Beach’s Skyler Varga proved to be a tough match for Penn State, tallying 11 kills and six total blocks.

Penn State opened the scoring in set one with a Matthew Luoma kill, but Long Beach quickly answered with a Wojciech Gajek kill. The teams traded early points as Owen Rose gave Penn State a 2-1 lead with a hard swing before a service error tied the set again at 2-2. Long Beach then took control, moving ahead 5-3 after a block by Jackson Cryst and Alex Kandev and a Penn State attack error.

Cryst then recorded back-to-back service aces, pushing Long Beach State ahead 8-5. The run continued as Long Beach extended its lead to 11-6, but Luoma landed a kill to end Penn State’s drought. Rose notched two solo blocks, and a service ace by Michael Schwob erased the deficit and tied the set 11-11. A kill from Luoma followed by a Rose-Bethel block gave Penn State a 14-13 lead.

Long Beach regained the lead moments later when Gajek delivered a solo block, making it 15-14. Kandev added another kill to give Long Beach a 16-15 advantage, but Penn State countered when Gaige Gabriel swung to tie the score at 16-16. Long Beach built a 20-18 lead off a Varga kill and a service ace by Kandev, but Tristan Hassell and Sean Harvey both found empty court to tie the game at 20-20.

It would prove to be Long Beach delivering in the clutch. Braedon Marquardt hammered down two kills to give Long Beach a 22-21 lead. The teams traded service errors down the stretch until the score reached 23-23. Long Beach made it to set point at 24-23 after Cryst put away a kill. Luoma notched a point for Penn State, but a kill and service ace from Kandev would close out the opening set, Long Beach winning 26-24. 

The second set opened with service errors from both sides. Bethel got the action started for Penn State with a kill, and a Gabriel-Luoma block gave the Nittany Lions a 4-2 lead. Kills from Gajek and Kandev helped Long Beach close the gap to 6-5.

Gajek delivered a service ace and added a kill to extend the lead to 9-8. A Rose-Luoma block helped put the Nittany Lions back within one, but Cryst delivered a service ace and a Varga kill for a 13-10 lead, forcing a Penn State timeout. 

A block by Owen Rose and Harvey cut into the deficit, but the Beach stayed on top behind kills from Varga and Marquardt, keeping the score close at 15-12. Back-to-back kills from Bethel and Luoma tied the game at 15-15, but Long Beach went on a 6–0 scoring run fueled by Marquardt’s serving and Connor Bloom’s net presence.

Penn State committed multiple attack errors, allowing Long Beach to surge ahead 21-15. Varga added another kill, and a block extended the lead to 23-16. Harvey snuck in two kills for the Nittany Lions, but it proved not to be enough as Long Beach dominated set two, 25-18. 

The Beach remained aggressive as Varga kicked off set three with a kill and Bloom delivered a service ace. Luoma responded with a shot for Penn State, and a Long Beach service error and a Rose kill helped tie the set 3-3.

Marquardt added a kill for Long Beach as they extended their lead to 9-6. Penn State responded with defensive pressure, including a solo block by Owen Rose, which helped the Nittany Lions rally back and tie the set 9-9.

Varga delivered another right-side attack to give the Beach an 11-9 lead, but Penn State battled back once again, capitalizing on errors and forcing a timeout with Penn State up 13-12. Gajek tied the set with a kill, and Varga followed as Long Beach reclaimed the lead at 14-13.

Both Schwob and Luoma notched kills for the Nittany Lions, but Long Beach led 17-15 with the help of Varga. Penn State stayed within reach thanks to a Harvey kill, but Bloom delivered a shot, followed by a Wojciech Gajek service ace, extending the Long Beach lead to 19-17.

Hershtynovich added a swing of his own to make it 21-18. Penn State added a point with a Harvey kill, but Long Beach responded immediately and capitalized on several Penn State errors down the stretch. Marquardt sealed the set point with a solo block, bringing the score to 24-19, and Cryst delivered a service ace to give Long Beach State the 25-19 set win, as well as the match sweep. 

Takeaways:

• Penn State delivered 24 kills on 71 attempts, hitting at just .113. 
• Serve receive proved to be crucial. Long Beach had 13 service aces on the night. Penn State had just one.
• The Nittany Lions seem to be experimenting with both Michael Schwob and Jaxon Herr at the setter position. Herr has been the typical starter, but Coach Pavlik went with Schwob for this matchup. 
• Owen Rose continues his big presence at the net, finishing with six total blocks.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will travel to Malibu, California, to take on No. 7 Pepperdine on Wednesday, March 11, at 9 p.m. This match will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.