Conference News
No. 2 Penn State Sweeps St. Francis, 3-0
No. 2 Penn State Men's Volleyball Burns Saint Francis, 3-0Nittany Lions attack at a .506 clip for the match
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Feb. 23, 2008 - The second-ranked Penn State
men's volleyball team pummeled Saint Francis in three games (30-21,
30-13, 30-17) Saturday night at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions improve
to 16-0 and 7-0 in the EIVA Tait while the Red Flash fall to 9-7
and 5-2 in league action.
"This is the first time in a long time that we're performing at
this point in the season like we have at the end of past seasons,"
said head coach Mark Pavlik. "To (perform this way) against the
second place team in the conference is a good sign. We took control
early and never let up. We've put ourselves in a pretty good
position this season and that reflects the high level we've been
playing at in practice."
Three Lion players reached double-digit kills, led by junior
outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.), who racked up 19
kills on .500 hitting. Junior middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati,
Ohio) and sophomore middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.)
each tallied 10 kills on .667 and .438 hitting, respectively.
Junior opposite Ryan Sweitzer (Lancaster, Pa.) recorded seven kills
and junior outside hitter Jay Stauffer (Columbia, Pa.) chipped in
four on .800 hitting. As a team, Penn State attacked at a .506 clip
for the match, its fourth team single-match hitting percentage
above the .500 mark this season.
Senior setter Luke Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.) directed the Lion
offense with 42 assists and added in a career-high-tying four kills
on an errorless five attacks to hit .800. Freshman libero Dennis
Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) provided a match-high eight digs
while Anderson, Murray and Anderson all posted five digs
apiece.
Penn State tied its season high with 10 service aces as a team as
Murray equaled his personal best with four aces. Stauffer recorded
a season-high two winners as Lipsitz, Holt, Sweitzer and Anderson
all posted one ace.
The Nittany Lions oublocked the Red Flash, 9.0 to 3.0. Holt led the
blocking list with five stuffs as Murray provided three and
Stauffer, Anderson, Sweitzer and Lipsitz all chipped in two
blocks.
Nick Rivett and Jordan Varee led Saint Francis with five kills each
and Chad Martson chipped in four kills. Shane Conley dished out 13
assists and Markus Schulze topped the defense with five digs. Varee
and Patrick McManamon each tallied two blocks for the Red
Flash.
Penn State took control of the match from the outset, going up 8-2
on an Anderson and Holt block and an Anderson kill. The Lions
remained on top, taking the 15-10 lead on a Murray kill and 18-11
on a Sweitzer put-away and consecutive Anderson finishes. Out of a
Red Flash timeout, back to back Murray service aces extended the
score to 20-11. Four consecutive Nittany Lion unforced hitting
errors brought Saint Francis within seven at 24-17 but a Lipsitz
kill halted the slide and kills form Anderson and Holt coupled with
a Holt ace and Stauffer kill ended the game, 30-21. Anderson and
Lipsitz led the way with five kills each as Holt added in four on
.800 hitting.
A Lion triple block from Holt, Murray and Stauffer continued the
onslaught, putting Penn State up 11-4 to start the second game. A
Stauffer ace and Anderson kill made it 17-6 before kills from
Anderson and Holt along with a Sweitzer ace pushed the score to
22-9. A Holt and Stauffer block extended the Lion lead to 15 at
25-10 before two Anderson kills finished off the game, 30-13. Penn
State sided out at a 92% clip in the second game while hitting .419
with 4.5 team blocks. Anderson connected on eight of his 13
errorless swings to lead the way.
Back to back Stauffer kills and then consecutive Murray service
aces put Penn State up 9-4 to begin the third game. An Anderson
kill to make it 12-8 sparked a 5-0 Lion run to push the lead to
16-8. Two more Anderson putaways coupled with a Stauffer ace gave
Penn State the 22-12 advantage and a Lion triple block from
Anderson, Holt and Sweitzer made it 26-13 before an Anderson kill
ended the game, 30-17. Penn State again sided out at an outstanding
clip, going 17-of-18 for 94% while hitting .615.








