Conference News
No. 7 Mens Volleyball Defeats IPFW, 3-0
No. 7 Men's Volleyball Defeats
IPFW, 3-0
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Feb. 20, 2010 - The Penn State men's
volleyball team (10-2) earned a convincing 3-0 (30-21, 30-22,
30-20) win against IPFW on Saturday evening in the South Gym of Rec
Hall. Three Nittany Lions posted double-digit kills against the
Mastodons.
The Nittany Lions registered a .462 attack percentage and held the
Mastodons to just .118. The Lions posted 49 kills, 48 assists,
three aces, 29 digs and 13.5 total team blocks. IPFW finished the
match with just 34 kills, 34 assists, two aces, 12 digs and 4.0
team blocks.
Seniors Mac Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) and Will Price
(Gaithersburg, Md.) each posted 12 kills. Lipsitz attacked at a
team-best .846 clip (12-1-13) and led the team with nine total
blocks, including two solo. Price was one of three players to tally
an ace and led the team with 10 digs. Redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder
(Greensburg, Pa.) was the third Nittany Lion with double-digit
kills closing out the night with 11. Redshirt sophomore setter
Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 44 assists and also
put up four blocks.
Penn State got off to a 6-2 start to open the match courtesy of
five IPFW errors and a Lipsitz kill. A kill from Mastodon Darryl
Shank and a PSU error had IPFW within two, but Penn State's lead
was back up to four, 10-6, on a Price kill and IPFW service error.
The Lions' lead grew to five, 12-5, but my midway through the frame
PSU was only ahead by two, 15-13. Kills by Price and Sunder and a
joint stuff by Sunder and freshman Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) had
Penn State's lead at four, 18-14. However, two PSU errors had the
Mastodons within two, 18-16. A 5-1 run by the Nittany Lions gave
them a 24-18 advantage and forced IPFW to call a timeout. The
timeout failed to slow PSU as the Lions capitalized off two IPFW
errors and a Sunder/Turko block for a 28-20 lead. IPFW took a
second timeout, but a Shank service error and a kill from Sunder
secured a 30-21 set one win for PSU.
The second set started out much like the first with Penn State
grabbing a 6-2 lead early. Lipsitz posted three kills in the early
run, while also putting up two blocks. The two teams traded points
with the Mastodons coming no closer than four points until halfway
through the set with IPFW fought to within three, 15-12, after an
ace and a PSU error. It was the closest the Mastodons would get to
the Lions for the remainder of the set. Lipsitz put down another
kill and teamed up with Goas for a stuff for a 20-15 lead. Two
Sunder kills counteracted an IPFW kill and a PSU error to keep Penn
State head by five, 22-17. Despite two PSU service errors, the ball
ended up back in Penn State hands after a Turko kill as the Lions
kept up the five-point lead, 24-19. Penn State closed out the set
on a 6-4 run for a 30-22 win.
The third set differed greatly from the first two as the score tied
seven times before a 4-1 PSU run gave the Lions their largest lead
of the stanza, 12-9. A kill by Oliver Kook had IPFW within two,
12-10, but a 3-0 PSU run had the Lions leading by five, 15-10.
Sunder and Price each tallied a kill, while junior Thomas Pereira
(Brasilia, Brazil) joined forces with Lipsitz for a block in the
run. The Lions held on to at least a four-point lead until
back-to-back kills by IPFW's Elon Fyfield had the Mastodons within
three, 18-15. However, two consecutive putdowns by Sunder and an
IPFW attack error had Penn State surging ahead with a 21-15 lead.
Following an IPFW timeout, Penn State's lead grew to seven, 23-16,
with the help of two Mastodon errors. Penn State's momentum
continued to increase and the Nittany Lions finished the match with
a 7-3 run for a 30-20 third set triumph.








