No. 16 Penn State men’s volleyball (21-7, 13-0 EIVA) defeated Charleston (14-15, 4-9 EIVA) in a five-set thriller.

Sean Harvey stepped up on offense for Penn State, finishing with 19 kills. Owen Rose also had 16, showing his experience in the game.

The first set was sloppy again for the Nittany Lions, but the team stayed composed and finished the game strong.

How It Happened

The first two out of three points went to Charleston. Sean Harvey had the first kill of the game for the Nittany Lions. Shortly after, Penn State took the lead 4-3. Matthew Luomo and Bennett Wilson had kills, and Owen Rose had a strong block to put the Nittany Lions in the lead.

Penn State scored two more points after it took the lead. Gaige Gabriel had two kills to put the Nittany Lions ahead. But Charleston responded with three straight points to tie the game. Two kills and a block put the Golden Eagles back on track.

The Golden Eagles took a one-point lead, but after a kill by Bennett and another block, the Nittany Lions took control. Luomo and Bennett both had a kill to put Penn State up two. However, Charleston wasn’t giving up as it scored three straight points to take the lead again. Two aces and a kill had the Golden Eagles rolling. The game was tied 11-11.

The next two points went back and forth between the two teams. Harvey had two kills, but Charleston kept responding. Braxton Francis then had a kill for Penn State, and the team got another point on a service error. The Nittany Lions had an attack error, a service error, and let up three kills to go down three.

Penn State called a timeout after Charleston took an 18-15 lead.

Charleston had a kill after the timeout, but the Golden Eagles caused an attack error. Of the next three points, two went to Charleston, and one to Penn State after an attack error. Tristan Hassell got his first kill of the game, but the Golden Eagles’ offense played very strongly. Charleston led 22-18.

The Nittany Lions then got two points after a kill and an ace from Hassell. Head coach Mark Pavlik mentioned last week that teams will have to find a way to stop him, and he finally got some momentum in the first set.

Penn State called a timeout after Charleston got two points from a service error and an ace. One more attack error gave Charleston the final point of the set, and Penn State went down 0-1.

The Nittany Lions had seven attack errors, a .138 hit percentage, and only three digs and blocks. Offensively, the team struggled as it did last week, off to a slow start.

The first three out of five points went to Charleston. The Golden Eagles had two kills and a point off an attack error to take an early lead. Harvey had a kill to give the Nittany Lions their first point in the second set.

Hassell then had a kill, but Charleston scored three straight points to take a 6-2 lead. The Golden Eagles won two out of the next three points. Gabriel had a kill, but the Charleston defense took control of the court. Penn State’s point scoring percentage was 29% after Charleston took an 8-3 lead. Penn State took a timeout to recenter.

Gabriel had a kill after the timeout, and Wilson had an ace to make it a two-point game. The Nittany Lions scored four straight points to make it a one-point game. Wilson had another ace, but Charleston had a kill to put its lead back up to two.

After a kill from Harvey and Hassell, Penn State tied the game. The two players took control of their last game against George Mason with a combined 44 kills. They play a huge role for the team, and Penn State needed an offensive boost in the second set.

The next two out of three points went to Penn State from a service and attack error by Charleston. The Nittany Lions took a two-point lead. Charleston then had a kill and a point off an attack error to tie the game. Hassell and Gabriel then had a kill, and right after, Rose had an ace. The team then had a block, which put them up 17-13.

Charleston called a timeout.

Penn State won three out of the next five points. Wilson, Hassell, and Harvey all had kills. The team then went up six points after dominating on offense. Serves were becoming more consistent for Penn State, and the team found rhythm. Harvey had a kill to put Penn State one point away from winning the set, and a service error put it to bed. Penn State won the second set 25-19.

The team’s hit percentage went up to .314 and had six service aces by the end of the set. Similar to last week, Penn State picked up later in the match.

Penn State won the first two points in the third set. Harvey had a kill, and Rose had a block to start. The Nittany Lions went up 5-1 over the Golden Eagles. Charleston had a service and attack error, and Harvey put up another kill to take an early lead.

The next four points were split between the two teams. Rose had a strong kill, but Charleston had two more to get back on the board. Rose had two more kills to contribute to Penn State’s lead. The team went up 12-5 after an ace from Gabriel. Hassell then had a kill, which forced Charleston to call a timeout.

Penn State won the next three out of five points. Harvey had an ace and a kill to extend the team’s lead. Charleston started to bounce back with three straight points, but Rose put up a kill to keep a seven-point lead.

The Golden Eagles scored another two points, but the team had a service error and two attack errors, putting Penn State at 20 points. To finish the set, Hassell had two kills and Rose had one. Penn State won the second set 25-16.

Penn State only had one attack error the whole set, improving its accuracy.

Charleston won the first three out of five points to start the fourth set. Rose and Hassell both had a kill, but the Golden Eagles had three. Penn State came back, but Charleston was aggressive on offense. Penn State went down 8-4 after errors and kills from Charleston.

Penn State scored two of the next four points. Harvey had a kill to give the offense momentum. The team’s defense had trouble with digs and returning spikes. But, two blocks and a kill from Harvey made it a two-point game. Charleston called a timeout, leading 12-10.

After the timeout, Charleston scored two points, but then had a service error. The next four points were split between the two teams, but Hassell had a kill to make it a two-point game again. Charleston won the next two out of three points, but Hassell had another kill to show his dominance on offense.

Harvey had three kills for Penn State to make it a one-point game, but Charleston scored three straight points to jump ahead 21-18. Penn State called a timeout.

The Golden Eagles then won three out of the next four points to get to 24. Hassell and Rose had a kill to come back, and Charleston called a timeout. After the timeout, Rose had a kill, but Charleston responded and won the set.

The fourth set was much closer in scoring. Harvey, Hassell, and Rose controlled the kill board, but it still wasn’t enough. For the fifth straight game, Penn State headed into its fifth set.

The first two out of three points went to Charleston to start the fifth set. But, Hassell had two kills to keep the game close and tied it 2-2. Penn State then won three out of the next four points. Charleston had two attack errors, and Harvey had another kill.

Penn State took a 7-4 lead after two errors by Charleston. The Golden Eagles took a timeout.

Rose had a kill after the timeout, putting Penn State up four. Hassell followed, but Charleston responded with a much-needed point. The Nittany Lions then scored two points after a kill from Wilson and a service error on Charleston. The Golden Eagles took another timeout as Penn State led 11-6.

The next four points were split between the two teams. Gabriel had a kill to help Penn State, and Charleston had an attack error. Shortly after, Charleston had another attack error, and Rose had a kill to finish the game.

Penn State won the fifth set 15-8.

Takeaways

• Penn State went into its fifth straight five-set series. The team had been less dominant in recent EIVA matches.
• Sean Harvey led the team with 19 kills and had above a .500 hit percentage. He proved why he was named EIVA Player of the Year after another impressive game.
• While closer than expected, Penn State still pulled off a win. The first set was sloppy, but the team recentered and stopped causing attack errors.

What’s Next

Penn State will play in the EIVA Championship against Princeton at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, at the Rec Hall.