Before the EIVA Championship game, Penn State men’s volleyball played five consecutive five-setters despite winning 10 straight. During this stretch, it had come back from 2-1 set deficits in four straight matches before that streak ended in its semifinal match win against Charleston, as it took its first 2-1 set lead since March 25.

Despite its losing record and being the last seed to get into the EIVA Tournament, Princeton came into the match with a lot of momentum, as it had upset George Mason and NJIT en route to the EIVA Championship game. With a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line, the Tigers tried to avenge their loss from last year’s championship game and do exactly what the Nittany Lions did last year: win the EIVA Tournament despite having a losing record.

However, the Nittany Lions refused to let that happen and showed in the championship game why they were the best team in the EIVA Conference as they swept the Tigers for the second consecutive year. This was the first time that the blue and white swept an opponent since April 4, and it was something they desperately needed after being tested in their last five matches.

“This group has spent a year learning how to compete, and like most learning curves, it’s never smooth and constantly up,” Penn State head coach Mark Pavlik said. “I think everything came together for us [against Princeton]. This might have been the most complete match we played for a while, and it was fun to watch.”

The biggest reason that Penn State was able to put in a complete performance was its ability to cut down on errors. Before the championship game, it had committed an average of 41 errors in its last three five-setters. In the championship game, it committed 30 errors, which is 10 fewer than Princeton committed. Along with that, it limited the Tigers to one block the entire match, which has an average of 2.18 blocks per set.

Along with this season being Pavlik’s last, there are only three seniors on the roster — Ryan Merk, Owen Rose, and Jaxon Herr. After winning Penn State’s fourth consecutive EIVA Tournament title, senior middle blocker Owen Rose talked about the mentality this team has had all season after Pavlik announced in December of last year that he would retire.

“Pavlik will tell you that it’s not about him. All year, you don’t want to be the person to mess up that last season for him, and I think the team just bought into it,” Rose said. “[The team] realized that when we play for each other, for [Pavlik], the jersey, the university, and the name on the front of the jersey, that’s when we get the best out of everybody. It’s not about us, so just kind of let everybody play free, loose, and just have fun with it.”

With this win, Penn State clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 26th time in Pavlik’s career. In his career, the team made four championship match appearances and won one national title, which came in 2008. The Nittany Lions will start their tournament campaign on Friday against UC Irvine in the regional first round. Looking to give Pavlik his second and final national championship, the team will try to carry this momentum into the NCAA Tournament.

“The energy we had, like [Pavlik] said, we played the most complete match, so just try to replicate it,” senior libero Ryan Merk said. “I told the guys in the locker room, ‘Let’s do it again. Let’s play with that feel we had [against Princeton], and let’s bring it to our next match. Whoever it is, I like our chances.”