No. 16 Penn State men’s volleyball (22-7, 13-0 EIVA) swept Princeton (11-15, 3-9 EIVA) 3-0 to win the EIVA Tournament. Along with clinching a berth in the NCAA Tournament, the Nittany Lions have now won four consecutive EIVA Tournament titles.

In a rematch of last year’s EIVA Championship game, the first set was a back-and-forth battle before Penn State pulled away to win the first set. It carried that momentum into the second set as it won by five, winning the first two sets in a game for the first time since April 4.

How It Happened

Both teams traded the first 10 points of the first set, as neither managed to build a lead larger than one. After that, Princeton built a two-point lead as it won three of the next four points. The back-and-forth exchange wagered on for the next four points as the Tigers held a 10-8 lead.

However, the Nittany Lions’ offense started to get aggressive as they recorded three consecutive kills to take the lead. This run was highlighted by two kills by Sean Harvey and one by Owen Rose. On the next point, Nolan Kelly and Ryan Vena recorded a block assist for the Tigers to tie the set up at 11.

Both teams traded blows for the next six points until a service error by Princeton’s Mason Rice gave Penn State a one-point lead heading into the media timeout. Out of the media timeout, the Tigers responded by winning three of the next four points that allowed them to retake the lead at 17-16.

The lead was short-lived as Penn State took a two-point lead on a 3-0 run. This led Princeton to use its first timeout of the set. Owen Mellon’s kill trimmed the Tigers’ deficit to one after the timeout, but the Nittany Lions extended their lead to three with back-to-back points. This forced the Tigers to take another timeout.

DENIED#WeAre pic.twitter.com/NLlLx3zeqC

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 25, 2026

Out of the timeout, both teams exchanged the next four points before a kill by Tristan Whitfield cut Princeton’s deficit to two. On the next point, Harvey recorded a kill to give Penn State three set-point opportunities. However, the Tigers refused to go away and saved two set points, forcing Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik to use a timeout in hopes of cooling off Princeton’s momentum.

This timeout paid huge dividends for the Nittany Lions. They converted on their third set-point opportunity with a kill by Gaige Gabriel. Penn State won the first set 25-23.

The Nittany Lions won the first two points of the second set before the Tigers responded with consecutive points of their own. Gabriel’s kill and a block assist by Harvey and Rose allowed Penn State to retake a two-point lead.

However, Princeton won three of the next four points to tie the set up at five. The Nittany Lions refused to give the Tigers any sort of momentum as they went on a 4-0 run that allowed them to start pulling away. This run was highlighted with kills by Rose and Harvey along with a block assist by Matthew Luoma and Rose, forcing Princeton to take a timeout.

After the timeout, Penn State increased its run to seven with a kill by Luoma, solo block by Rose, and service ace by Harvey. The run ended on the next point due to a kill by Sebastian Daste. However, the Nittany Lions continued to pull away as they won four of the next five points to take a 16-7 lead. This led the Tigers to use their final timeout of the set as things started to get ugly for them.

NOPE!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/GBAOijFzbp

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 25, 2026

Princeton started to show signs of life after the timeout with back-to-back points before Penn State restored its nine-point lead with consecutive points. Both teams traded the next four points before the Tigers started to claw their way back with four of the next five points to decrease their deficit to six. This forced the Nittany Lions to take a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Bennett Wilson recorded a huge kill for Penn State to give it a 22-15 lead. However, Princeton refused to go away and cut its deficit to four with a 3-0 run. Both teams exchanged service errors before a kill by Jaxon Herr gave the Nittany Lions set point. After not converting the first set-point opportunity, Gabriel, Herr, and Harvey recorded a block assist as Penn State won the second frame 25-20.

The triple block #WeAre pic.twitter.com/vGOLm2Wpim

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 26, 2026

Both teams traded blows for the first six points before back-to-back errors by the Tigers gave the Nittany Lions an early 5-3 lead. Princeton cut its deficit to one by winning two of the next three points. However, Penn State responded with consecutive kills by Gabriel and Wilson to increase its lead to three.

After Luoma committed a service error on the next point, he redeemed himself by recording back-to-back kills to give the Nittany Lions a 10-6 lead. This led Princeton to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, both teams exchanged the next four points before kills by Mellon and Ambrose Engling got the Tigers within two of tying the set.

Both teams traded blows for the next six points until a service ace by Engling got Princeton within one. However, it couldn’t tie the set at 15 as Engling committed a critical service error. Harvey recorded a solo block on the next point that allowed Penn State to increase its lead to three.

Nothing gets past Harvey#WeAre pic.twitter.com/cmGDthnl6d

— Penn State Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 26, 2026

After Vena recorded a kill on the next point, the Nittany Lions refused to give the Tigers any sort of momentum. They recorded consecutive kills to take a 19-15 lead, forcing Princeton to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Tigers trimmed their deficit to three as they won two of the next three points.

However, Penn State inched towards victory with three consecutive points to get within two of completing the sweep. After Whitfield recorded a kill, Luoma responded with one of his own to give the Nittany Lions championship point. They converted it on an attack error by Engling as Penn State completed the sweep with a 25-18 third-set win.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions have been the best team in the EIVA Conference the entire season, and they proved it tonight, winning their fourth consecutive EIVA Tournament title in straight sets. They will now head into the NCAA Tournament with a lot of momentum, riding an 11-game win streak.
• After playing five consecutive five-setters, Penn State got the sweep it desperately needed. It committed 10 less errors than Princeton, who committed 30 errors. Along with that, the Nittany Lions were stout defensively. They recorded 11 blocks compared to the Tigers’ one.
• It was an all-around performance from the Nittany Lions as four players recorded seven or more kills out of the 42 team kills. Sean Harvey led the team with 12. Those with seven or more kills were Owen Rose, Gaige Gabriel, and Matthew Luoma.
• While it was an all-around performance from Penn State, Owen Rose stood out with 10 kills on an effective hitting percentage of .909. Along with that, he had five blocks.

What’s Next?

Penn State will wait to find out who it plays in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.