Conference News
No. 8 Mens Volleyball Defeats Juniata, 3-0
No. 8 Men's Volleyball Defeats Juniata, 3-0
Del Valle and Stauffer each pick up 10 digs
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., March 24, 2009 - The eighth-ranked Penn State
men's volleyball team defeated EIVA foe Juniata in three games
(30-24, 30-25, 30-26) Tuesday night in Huntingdon, Pa. The Nittany
Lions improve to 18-3 overall and 8-0 in the conference, and need
just two more wins to clinch their 25th league title and secure
home-court advantage for the EIVA Championship.
Senior opposite Ryan Sweitzer (Lancaster, Pa.) led all players with
15 kills on .478 hitting while junior outside hitter Will Price
(Gaithersburg, Md.) contributed 13 kills. Senior middle hitter and
EIVA Player of the Week Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted seven
kills on .667 hitting while junior middle hitter Max Lipsitz
(Williamsville, N.Y.) notched six kills. As a team, Penn State
attacked at a .446 clip for the match.
Redshirt freshman setter Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
directed the Lion offense with 44 assists while sophomore libero
Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) and senior outside hitter
Jay Stauffer (Columbia, Pa.) both racked up 10 digs. The Nittany
Lions outdug the Eagles, 35-16, in the contest.
Each team posted five aces, with Sweitzer notching three and Holt
and Stauffer each adding in one. Goas and Holt each provided five
blocks and Stauffer chipped in two stuffs as the Nittany Lions
recorded 8.5 team blocks.
The first game started off close, featuring nine ties before a kill
from redshirt freshman outside hitter Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.)
gave Penn State the 14-12 lead. Juniata took the lead behind two
aces from Matt Werle and the Eagles remained on top, going up 17-15
on a triple block. The teams traded kills before Lion put-aways
from Holt and Lipsitz along with a Juniata attack error gave Penn
State the 19-18 lead. The squads exchanged points twice and
consecutive Sweitzer kills put the Nittany Lions on top, 23-20.
Another Sweitzer kill coupled with a solo Price block and a Juniata
attack error gave Penn State the 28-23 lead, and a Holt and Goas
block along with another Eagle hitting error ended the game,
30-24.
Penn State went up 10-6 in the second game on a Stauffer ace but
Juniata fought back to even the score at 10-10. Seven ties ensued
before a Juniata service error and a Price kill put the Nittany
Lions up 21-19. Penn State maintained the slight advantage, going
up 23-21 on a Lipsitz kill. Juniata responded with a kill and a
block, and along with a Lion attack error, the Eagles took the
24-23 lead. Out of a Penn State timeout, a Lipsitz kill evened the
score and the teams exchanged points before two Holt kills along
with a triple block by Stauffer, Holt and Goas put Penn State ahead
27-25. The Lions continued the run, with kills from Goas and Holt
and a Sweitzer ace ending the game, 30-25. Penn State closed out
the stanza scoring seven of the last eight points.
The third set again remained close early on, with consecutive Price
put-aways giving the Lions the 12-10 lead. A Holt kill and Sweitzer
ace made it 16-12 and three straight kills from Goas, Price and
Sweitzer pushed the lead to 19-13. Another three-point run, this
one on kills from Sweitzer, Price and senior middle hitter Jon
Sherrick (Mountville, Pa.), gave the Lions the 23-16 advantage but
Juniata pulled within four at 23-19 on a kill and back to back solo
Werle blocks. An Eagle error halted the run and the teams traded
points twice before a Sweitzer ace gave Penn State a six-point
cushion at 27-21. A Sherrick kill ended the game, 30-26.








