Conference News
No. 5 Penn State Defeats No. 12 Hawaii, 3-2
No. 5 Penn State Defeats No.
12 Hawaii, 3-2
HONOLULU, Hawaii, Jan. 8, 2010 - In front of 3,233 fans, the
fifth-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team defeated No. 12
Hawaii, 3-2 (26-30, 30-26, 30-23, 28-30, 15-9). Four Nittany Lions
tallied double-digit kills in the victory.
Senior Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) led all
players with 23 kills on .462 hitting. Freshman Tom
Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) made the first start of his
Penn State career and registered 21 kills with a team-best .548
attack percentage. Redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder
(Greensburg, Pa.) finished the night with 19 kills and senior
Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) posted 11.
Redshirt sophomore Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto
Rico) dished out 72 assists and had six total blocks. Lipsitz had a
match-high nine blocks and Price contributed four. Junior
Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) led the
team in saves with 17, while Price tallied 13. Both Price and
Sunder had four aces.
Penn State attacked a .406 clip recording 78 kills, 75 assists, 10
aces, 51 digs and 16.0 total team blocks. Hawaii finished the night
with a .321 attack percentage. The Warriors totaled 72 kills, 70
helpers, seven aces, 34 digs and 10.0 team blocks.
The Nittany Lions trailed from the start after a kill by Hawaii's
Matt Rawson and a PSU attack error. An error by the Warriors put
the Lions on the board and kills from Lipsitz and Price had Penn
State within one, 4-3. Penn State managed to stay within two of UH
until a Rawson kill sparked an 8-3 run giving Hawaii a 15-9 lead.
Two Warrior errors and a Price kill had PSU within four, 16-12. The
teams traded points with three Price kills and one from Comfort
keeping the Lions behind by four, 19-15. Penn State worked to
within three, 21-19, after a Warrior error, a Price ace and a huge
block by Lipsitz and Sunder. UH increased its lead to four on two
kills from Jonas Umlauft and one from Gus Tauniga, but Penn State
tallied three straight kills to be within one, 24-23, of tying the
set. The Nittany Lions managed to stay within a point of the
Warriors until two PSU errors and a Hawaii ace secured the set for
UH, 30-26.
The two squads stayed close early in the second set with Hawaii
grabbing a two-point edge, 8-6, on two Penn State errors. Kills by
Price and Comfort moved Penn State back within one, 9-8. The Lions
tied the set at 10-10 on a joint stuff by Lipsitz and Goas. Penn
State took its first lead of the set on a Price ace and moved ahead
by two thanks to a kill and ace from Lipsitz. Two PSU service
errors allowed the Warriors to come within two, but one kill each
by Price and Comfort kept Penn State ahead by two, 15-13. Penn
State maintained its slim lead until three errors gave Hawaii the
boost it needed to take over the lead. Price tied the set at 17-17
with a kill, but back-to-back Hawaii kills had the Lions trailing
by two, 19-17. PSU trailed by three until kills by Sunder and
Comfort, a solo block by Price and a Sunder ace allowed Penn State
to tie it at 23-23. A Price kill put Penn State back ahead and
another ace by Sunder gave the Nittany Lions some much-needed
breathing room, 25-23. Kills from Price, Lipsitz and Comfort put
the Lions in set-point position and Price notched an ace to give
Penn State a set two win, 30-26.
The third set began much like the second with the two team
remaining close until three straight PSU kills put the Lions up by
three, 7-4. The Warriors fought back to within one, 8-7, but kills
by Price and Comfort and a Sunder ace had PSU ahead by four, 11-7.
The two squads traded service errors before a Sunder kill put the
Lions ahead by five, 14-9. A UH service error had PSU leading 15-11
at the midpoint of the frame. Penn State dominated much of the
remainder of the set building an eight-point advantage, 24-16. The
Warriors came within six, 29-23, before a Comfort kill closed out
set three for PSU, 30-23.
The Lions trailed early in the fourth set, but three UH service
errors helped Penn State to a 6-4 lead. The score would tie seven
times before Penn State took back the lead, 15-13, after a Hawaii
error and a joint stuff by Lipsitz and Sunder. UH managed to tie
the score again at 15-15, but kills from Lipsitz and Sunder, as
well as a Warrior error put PSU ahead by three, 18-15. Penn State
kept the Warriors at bay until two consecutive kills allowed them
to tie it at 19-19. The score would go on to tie five times before
UH took a two-point lead, 27-25, sending PSU to the bench for a
timeout. Hawaii increased its lead to three, 28-25, before a
Lipsitz kill and a triple block by Goas, Sunder and freshman
Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) brought the Lions
within one, 28-27. After a UH timeout and despite a service error
by the Warriors, Hawaii claimed set three, 30-28.
Despite trailing 2-1 to start the final set, the Lions went on a
5-1 run for a 6-3 lead. Three UH kills brought the Warriors within
one, 7-6, but Sunder put one down before the team switched sides of
the net for an 8-6 lead. The Lions built their lead to four, 11-7,
and allowed the Warriors just two more points. A block by Price and
Lipsitz put PSU in match-point position and a triple stuff by Goas,
Lipsitz and gave Penn State a 15-9 fifth set win.
Penn State is back in action on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 4 p.m. HT (9
p.m. ET). The Lions are set to take on Ohio State in Hawaii's Stan
Sheriff Arena to wrap up the Hawaii Outrigger Invitational.








