2006-07 News Archives

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Mark Myers
Special to EIVAvolleyball.com

University Park, PA - For the 21st time - every year that the tournament has been held - No. 6 Penn State will be in the EIVA finals.

With a dominating victory 3-0 (30-16, 30-22, 30-22) victory against fourth-seeded Princeton, the Nittany Lions are one win away from their ninth consecutive EIVA title, and the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship berth that come with it.

"I came into this match expecting what happened to happen. I don't think my young players here expected it," Princeton coach Glenn Nelson said. "[Penn State setter Luke] Murray played better than he did against us before, and their offense moved quicker. And we just couldn't hang with them."

After a close beginning of Game One, the Lions went on a six-point run behind the terrific serving of freshman Max Lipsitz, who recorded back to back aces. Lipsitz serving was so good that when Nelson asked his junior outside hitter Eichler at the press conference if he had ever faced six straight serves like that this season, Eichler shook his head and said, "No."

"[At the 10 point mark in Game One] spurt that [Lipsitz] served that put us out 15-7 or 15-8 lead that's where I think the breaking point of the match was," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. "At that point you could see us say, ‘We can stay at this level, can you?'"

From the midway point of Game One, Penn State controlled the Tigers defense the entire match with a great service game that yielded seven aces, and an efficient attack, which compiled a .418 hitting percentage as a team. The Lions said their success was because of the solid week-and-a-half of practice they had preceding the Princeton match.

"We have to give our second team credit for that," Murray said. "They were tough enough to push us, and we need them to step up and push us in practice."

Penn State was led by seniors Alex Gutor (15 kills), and sophomore middle hitter Max Holt (11 kills) in the three-game sweep, while Eichler ( 9 kills, 10 digs), and senior middle hitter Evan Pasion (6 kills) had strong efforts in a losing effort for the Tigers.

Despite the outcome of the match, Nelson saw last night's semifinal as a positive moment for the Tigers' program, which was last on top of the EIVA in 1998. With the youth on the roster - only two seniors departing this season - this year's trip to the semifinal doesn't seem to be a one-year deal.

"We're taking little baby steps right now," Nelson said. "We weren't here last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. We're getting better with every game we play, and we got a little better [last night]."



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2006-07 News Archives 2005-06 \| 2006-07 \| 2007-08 \| 2008-09 Mark Myers Special to EIVAvolleyball.com University Park, PA - For the 21st time - every year that the tournament has been held - No. 6 Penn State will be in the EIVA finals. With a dominating victory 3-0 (30-16, 30-22, 30-22) victory against fourth-seeded Princeton, the Nittany Lions are one win away from their ninth consecutive EIVA title, and the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship berth that come with it. "I came into this match expecting what happened to happen. I don't think my young players here expected it," Princeton coach Glenn Nelson said. "[Penn State setter Luke] Murray played better than he did against us before, and their offense moved quicker. And we just couldn't hang with them." After a close beginning of Game One, the Lions went on a six-point run behind the terrific serving of freshman Max Lipsitz, who recorded back to back aces. Lipsitz serving was so good that when Nelson asked his junior outside hitter Eichler at the press conference if he had ever faced six straight serves like that this season, Eichler shook his head and said, "No." "[At the 10 point mark in Game One] spurt that [Lipsitz] served that put us out 15-7 or 15-8 lead that's where I think the breaking point of the match was," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. "At that point you could see us say, ‘We can stay at this level, can you?'" From the midway point of Game One, Penn State controlled the Tigers defense the entire match with a great service game that yielded seven aces, and an efficient attack, which compiled a .418 hitting percentage as a team. The Lions said their success was because of the solid week-and-a-half of practice they had preceding the Princeton match. "We have to give our second team credit for that," Murray said. "They were tough enough to push us, and we need them to step up and push us in practice." Penn State was led by seniors Alex Gutor (15 kills), and sophomore middle hitter Max Holt (11 kills) in the three-game sweep, while Eichler ( 9 kills, 10 digs), and senior middle hitter Evan Pasion (6 kills) had strong efforts in a losing effort for the Tigers. Despite the outcome of the match, Nelson saw last night's semifinal as a positive moment for the Tigers' program, which was last on top of the EIVA in 1998. With the youth on the roster - only two seniors departing this season - this year's trip to the semifinal doesn't seem to be a one-year deal. "We're taking little baby steps right now," Nelson said. "We weren't here last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. We're getting better with every game we play, and we got a little better [last night]."