2006-07 News Archives

2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09

No. 8 Penn State Men's Volleyball Sweeps No. 15 Ball State, 3-0

MUNCIE, Ind., January 12, 2007 - The eighth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team swept No. 15 Ball State (30-28, 30-22, 30-22) to open up the 2007 season Friday night in Muncie, Ind.

"I was pleased with the consistency in all facets of the game," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "I was pleasantly surprised with our defense and for the most part Luke (Murray) ran the offense well. It was a consistent effort from everyone and we played really well in the late part of each game."

Senior outside hitter Alex Gutor (Kiev, Ukraine) led all players with 17 kills as sophomore outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) chipped in 11 kills. In his first collegiate match, freshman middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) tied the school record for hitting percentage, connecting on all eight of his attacks to hit 1.000. Sophomore middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) added six kills as senior Aaron Smith (Forest, Va.) posted three kills. As a team, the Nittany Lions hit .323 in the match while holding the Cardinals to attacking at a .151 clip.

Junior setter Luke Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.) directed the offense with 38 assists and posted a career-high nine digs while senior libero Ryan Walthall (Irvine, Calif.) posted a match-high 11 digs. Gutor notched eight digs in the contest as Anderson and Smith both provided four. Penn State outdug Ball State, 40-27.

Gutor, Holt and Murray all recorded the Nittany Lions with three blocks to aid Penn State in winning the blocking battle, 8.0 to 6.5, while Lipsitz and Anderson both chipped in two.

The Nittany Lions also recorded five service aces in the match while giving up only two. Smith, Gutor, Holt, Murray and redshirt junior Ryan Sweitzer (Lancaster, Pa.) all tallied one ace in the match.

Todd Chamberlain led Ball State with 15 kills on .360 hitting along with four blocks while Nick Meyer and Matt McCarthy both provided five kills. Ethan Pheister dished out 26 assists and Meyer and Ian Peckler topped the squad with seven digs apiece.

Ball State claimed the 14-10 lead to start the match before an Anderson kill and two from Gutor, coupled with two Cardinal hitting errors, brought Penn State to within one at 16-15. A BSU kill and solo block from Chamberlain forced a Nittany Lion timeout at 18-15 and out of the break, a Ball State service ace and a block by Anderson and Lipsitz again pulled Penn State to within one at 18-17. The squads traded points and Sweitzer's service ace kept the Nittany Lions close, down 21-20. The teams exchanged points and a bad set from Ball State's Pheister tied the game at 22-22. A Gutor kill and block by Gutor and Holt put Penn State ahead 24-22 before the Cardinals clawed back to knot the game at 24-24 on a Meyer kill and Lion attack error. Two ties ensued before a Gutor kill and Murray ace gave the Lions the 28-26 lead. A Ball State triple block from Meyer, Clarke and Chamberlain trimmed the Penn State advantage to one at 28-27 but two Cardinal service errors in the next three points gave the Nittany Lions the game, 30-28. Gutor racked up nine kills in the stanza as Holt and Anderson added two blocks each.

The second game picked up where the first left off, with Penn State maintaining the slim 12-10 lead on a Gutor kill. A Holt kill sparked a 7-1 Nittany Lion run, aided by back to back Lipsitz kills, to put them up 20-12. Kills from Smith and Holt pushed the lead to 25-17 and another Holt ace, coupled with a service ace, made it 28-20 before a Murray kill ended the game, 30-22. Lipsitz, Gutor and Holt all provided four kills in the set while Walthall tallied six digs and Penn State as a team sided-out at 78%.

A Holt kill in the third game knotted the score at 12-12 before Penn State scored the next four points, including three coming on blocks, with solo efforts by Holt and Murray, to go ahead 16-12. Kills from Murray and Anderson pushed the Lion lead to 20-13 before putaways from Gutor and Smith made the advantage 24-15. An Anderson kill pushed the score to 28-21 before a Ball State attack error ended the game, 30-22. Anderson led all players with six kills in the game as the Nittany Lions attacked at a .448 clip.



Home \| Releases \| Match Calendar \| Standings \| Statistics \| Members \| Tournament \| Awards \| Links
2006-07 News Archives 2005-06 \| 2006-07 \| 2007-08 \| 2008-09 No. 8 Penn State Men's Volleyball Sweeps No. 15 Ball State, 3-0 MUNCIE, Ind., January 12, 2007 - The eighth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team swept No. 15 Ball State (30-28, 30-22, 30-22) to open up the 2007 season Friday night in Muncie, Ind. "I was pleased with the consistency in all facets of the game," said head coach Mark Pavlik. "I was pleasantly surprised with our defense and for the most part Luke (Murray) ran the offense well. It was a consistent effort from everyone and we played really well in the late part of each game." Senior outside hitter Alex Gutor (Kiev, Ukraine) led all players with 17 kills as sophomore outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) chipped in 11 kills. In his first collegiate match, freshman middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) tied the school record for hitting percentage, connecting on all eight of his attacks to hit 1.000. Sophomore middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) added six kills as senior Aaron Smith (Forest, Va.) posted three kills. As a team, the Nittany Lions hit .323 in the match while holding the Cardinals to attacking at a .151 clip. Junior setter Luke Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.) directed the offense with 38 assists and posted a career-high nine digs while senior libero Ryan Walthall (Irvine, Calif.) posted a match-high 11 digs. Gutor notched eight digs in the contest as Anderson and Smith both provided four. Penn State outdug Ball State, 40-27. Gutor, Holt and Murray all recorded the Nittany Lions with three blocks to aid Penn State in winning the blocking battle, 8.0 to 6.5, while Lipsitz and Anderson both chipped in two. The Nittany Lions also recorded five service aces in the match while giving up only two. Smith, Gutor, Holt, Murray and redshirt junior Ryan Sweitzer (Lancaster, Pa.) all tallied one ace in the match. Todd Chamberlain led Ball State with 15 kills on .360 hitting along with four blocks while Nick Meyer and Matt McCarthy both provided five kills. Ethan Pheister dished out 26 assists and Meyer and Ian Peckler topped the squad with seven digs apiece. Ball State claimed the 14-10 lead to start the match before an Anderson kill and two from Gutor, coupled with two Cardinal hitting errors, brought Penn State to within one at 16-15. A BSU kill and solo block from Chamberlain forced a Nittany Lion timeout at 18-15 and out of the break, a Ball State service ace and a block by Anderson and Lipsitz again pulled Penn State to within one at 18-17. The squads traded points and Sweitzer's service ace kept the Nittany Lions close, down 21-20. The teams exchanged points and a bad set from Ball State's Pheister tied the game at 22-22. A Gutor kill and block by Gutor and Holt put Penn State ahead 24-22 before the Cardinals clawed back to knot the game at 24-24 on a Meyer kill and Lion attack error. Two ties ensued before a Gutor kill and Murray ace gave the Lions the 28-26 lead. A Ball State triple block from Meyer, Clarke and Chamberlain trimmed the Penn State advantage to one at 28-27 but two Cardinal service errors in the next three points gave the Nittany Lions the game, 30-28. Gutor racked up nine kills in the stanza as Holt and Anderson added two blocks each. The second game picked up where the first left off, with Penn State maintaining the slim 12-10 lead on a Gutor kill. A Holt kill sparked a 7-1 Nittany Lion run, aided by back to back Lipsitz kills, to put them up 20-12. Kills from Smith and Holt pushed the lead to 25-17 and another Holt ace, coupled with a service ace, made it 28-20 before a Murray kill ended the game, 30-22. Lipsitz, Gutor and Holt all provided four kills in the set while Walthall tallied six digs and Penn State as a team sided-out at 78%. A Holt kill in the third game knotted the score at 12-12 before Penn State scored the next four points, including three coming on blocks, with solo efforts by Holt and Murray, to go ahead 16-12. Kills from Murray and Anderson pushed the Lion lead to 20-13 before putaways from Gutor and Smith made the advantage 24-15. An Anderson kill pushed the score to 28-21 before a Ball State attack error ended the game, 30-22. Anderson led all players with six kills in the game as the Nittany Lions attacked at a .448 clip.