No. 15 Penn State men’s volleyball (17-7, 9-0 EIVA) survived against Sacred Heart (10-12, 3-6 EIVA) in a five-set thriller on Friday night at the William H Pitt Athletic & Convocation Center in Fairfield, Connecticut. The Nittany Lions’ magic number to clinch the EIVA regular-season title is down to two.

The Nittany Lions extended their set streak to 13 as they took the first set convincingly. However, the Pioneers responded by winning the second set to end the streak and sending the match to a best-of-three. Penn State took an early six-point lead in the third set, but Sacred Heart overcame this deficit to steal the third set.

With Penn State one set away from defeat, it overcame a five-point deficit in the fourth set to send the match to a fifth set. The Nittany Lions completed the 2-1 set comeback by winning the fifth set 15-10 to remain unbeaten in EIVA play and extend their winning streak to six.

How It Happened

Penn State got off to a fast start in the first set as it won the first five points. This run was highlighted with kills by Matthew Luoma, Sean Harvey, and a service ace by Michael Schwob. This led Sacred Heart to use its first timeout of the match.

The Nittany Lions extended their run to seven after the timeout before a kill by Petr Beranek finally got the Pioneers on the board. This point gave Saint Francis momentum as it started to claw its way back by winning five of the next seven points to cut the deficit to three.

Penn State restored its seven-point lead as it won five of the next six points. However, Saint Francis refused to go away as it won three of the next four points to cut the deficit to five. After Aleksa Mandic committed a service error, the Pioneers continued to cut the deficit as they won three straight points to get within three of the Nittany Lions’ lead. This led Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to use a timeout.

Saint Francis extended its run to four after the timeout before a service error by Aaron Johnson gave the Nittany Lions a 17-14 lead. Both teams traded blows for the next 10 points as Penn State’s three-point lead stayed intact. On the next point, Owen Rose, Bennett Wilson, and Harvey recorded a block assist to get Penn State within two points of winning the first set, leading to another Pioneers’ timeout.

Out of the timeout, Saint Francis recorded back-to-back kills to trim the deficit to two. This forced the Nittany Lions to take a timeout. This timeout paid huge dividends for Penn State as Harvey’s kill and service ace allowed it to win the first set 25-21.

Both teams exchanged the first 10 points of the second set as neither team managed to build a lead. The back-and-forth affair wagered on for the next six points until the Pioneers started to pull away with a 3-0 run. This led the Nittany Lions to use a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Sacred Heart continued to increase its lead as it won four of the next six points. Penn State started to fight back as it won five of the next seven points to cut the margin to two. This forced the Pioneers to take a timeout in hopes of cooling off the Nittany Lions’ momentum.

After the timeout, Rose and Harvey record a block assist to get within one point of tying it at 17. On the next point, Mandic recorded a huge kill to keep Sacred Heart’s lead intact. However, this lead was short-lived as Harvey’s kill and Mandic’s attack error allowed the Nittany Lions to tie it at 18.

The deadlock was short-lived as the Pioneers restored their lead on a 3-0 run, forcing Penn State to use a timeout. Sacred Heart extended its run to four before the Nittany Lions ended it on the next point. After both teams exchanged points, Rose recorded back-to-back aces before he committed a service error to give the Pioneers set point. They converted the set point on a kill by Jaron Popp to win the second set for Sacred Heart 25-22.

Despite losing the second set, Penn State showed its resilience as it won the first three points of the third set. After Sacred Heart got on the board on the next point, the Nittany Lions started to seize their momentum as they won four of the next five points to take an early 7-2 lead.

However, the Pioneers started to show signs of life as they won three consecutive points before a service error ended it. Both teams traded the next six points before back-to-back points by Penn State gave it a five-point lead. The Nittany Lions increased their lead to six by winning two of the next three points before the media timeout occurred.

This media timeout paid huge dividends to Saint Francis as it won four of the next five points to cut the deficit to three, leading to a Penn State timeout. After the timeout, both teams traded the next six points until a 3-0 run by the Pioneers tied it at 19. On the next point, Beranek’s kill gave Saint Francis the lead for the first time in the set, forcing the Nittany Lions to take a timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Pioneers continued to ride their momentum as they extended their run to six to take a 22-19 lead. After Penn State responded with consecutive points, Saint Francis closed out the third set 25-21 on a 3-0 run.

Both teams exchanged the first eight points of the fourth set before back-to-back points by the Pioneers gave them an early 6-4 lead. The back-and-forth affair continued for the next 10 points as Saint Francis’ two-point lead stayed intact.

Both teams traded blows for the next four points until an attack error by Wilson extended Saint Francis’ lead to three. Both teams exchanged service errors before a media timeout occurred. After the media timeout, Luoma committed an attack error to increase the Pioneers’ lead to four, but Penn State refused to go away and responded with a 3-0 run to get within one of Saint Francis’ lead. This led the Pioneers to take a timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Nittany Lions took the lead for the first time in the set on kills by Harvey and Luoma. On the next point, Mandic recorded a huge kill for Saint Francis to tie it at 18. However, the deadlock was short-lived as Penn State won three consecutive points to take a 21-18 lead, forcing the Pioneers to take another timeout.

The Nittany Lions extended their run to six to give themselves set point. Saint Francis saved set point on a block assist by Johnson and Mandic. On the second match point, a kill by Harvey allowed Penn State to win the fourth set 25-19 and send the match to a fifth set.

Penn State continued its momentum from the fourth set as it won three of the first four points in the fifth set. However, this lead was short-lived as Saint Francis returned the favor to tie the set at four.

The deadlock stayed intact for the next six points before Luoma’s kill gave the Nittany Lions an 8-7 lead heading into the media timeout. Out of the media timeout, Johnson and Armaan Dosanjh recorded a huge block assist for the Pioneers to tie the set once again.

After the set was tied at eight, Penn State started to pull away as it went on a 3-0 run to take an 11-8 lead. This led Saint Francis to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, both teams exchanged the next four points before Luoma’s kill gave the Nittany Lions match point, forcing another timeout by the Pioneers. Penn State finished off the match after the timeout as Luoma recorded a service ace to win the fifth set 15-10.

Takeaways

• Penn State had to fight hard to win this match. It looked like it was on its way to winning its sixth straight match with its fifth consecutive sweep after winning the first set. However, it lost the next two sets to put it in a deficit for the first time since March 14 before winning the last two sets to survive the upset bid.
• Sacred Heart showed a lot of resilience in this match. After losing the first set, it responded by winning the second set and overcame a six-point deficit in the third set to take a 2-1 set lead. It had a five-point lead in the fourth set but couldn’t finish the job as it continues to remain winless against Penn State since 2017.
• Sean Harvey continues to be the catalyst for Penn State as he led the team with 19 of the team’s 56 kills, had three service aces, and four block assists. Along with him, Owen Rose played incredible defense as he recorded 10 block assists and one solo block.

What’s Next?

Penn State will play its second match of a two-match series against Sacred Heart on Saturday, April 10, at 3 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.