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March 11, 2010

No. 9 Penn State Claws to a 3-2 Win at No. 11 UC Irvine

No. 9 Penn State Claws to a 3-2 Win at No. 11 UC Irvine

IRVINE, Calif., March 10, 2010 – The ninth-ranked Penn State men’s volleyball team (14-2) fought to a 3-2 (33-31, 30-25, 26-30, 28-30, 16-14) victory against No. 11 UC Irvine (11-11) on Wednesday night. The Nittany Lions are back in action on Friday, March 12 vs. BYU at the Long Beach State Active Ankle Challenge.

Senior Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) tied his career-high with 30 kills, while senior Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) had a career-high 25. Redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) finished the night with 14 kills and a team-best three aces. Redshirt sophomore Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) posted a personal-best 81 assists and junior libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) registered a career-high 25 digs. Freshman Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) led the Lions in blocks with four.

Penn State attacked a .353 clip, but the Anteaters weren’t far off at .330. UCI had 88 kills, five aces, 57 digs and 12.5 total team blocks, while Penn State finished the match with 86 kills, four aces, 61 digs and 9.5 team blocks.

The Anteaters jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set with Lipsitz tallying the first point for the Lions. Two straight UCI errors and a Sunder kill put PSU within one, 5-4. The Anteaters maintained the lead, but the Lions never let them break away. Back-to-back kills by Lipsitz had the score tied at 9-9. A Sunder kill put the Lions in the lead for the first time. The score tied five times before an attack error by UCI’s Jordan DuFault and a Sunder ace gave Penn State a two-point edge, 16-14. After a timeout, Penn State’s lead increased to three, 18-15, after a Lipsitz kill and a Price/Turko stuff. The Lions held off the Anteaters by a slim margin until a kill by Kevin Carroll and a PSU error allowed UCI to tie the set at 23-23. Price put the Lions back in front, but another PSU error had the score tied at 24-24. Price put down another kill before a UCI attack error gave Penn State some breathing room, 26-24. UCI took a timeout and despite registering another error, Carson Clark tallied two straight kills to bring the Anteaters within one, 27-26. The score tied four times and was knotted at 31-31 when the Nittany Lions finally put the set away. Kills from Turko and Price gave PSU a 33-31 first set win.

The second set started out close, but Penn State took a two-point lead, 4-6, after kills from Turko and Sunder and a UCI attack error. DuFault tallied a kill for UCI, but Price answered right back to keep PSU in the lead. A 3-0 run by the Anteaters put UC Irvine in the lead, 8-7, but Goas set Price for a kill to tie it at 8-8. The score tied three times before UCI’s Kevin Wynne recorded a kill and a solo stuff for a 13-11 advantage. Lipsitz and Turko each tallied a kill and a bad set by the Anteaters had the score tied at 14-14. Two consecutive kills by Sunder put Penn State in the lead, 16-14, and sent UCI to the bench. After the break, two PSU errors and a Carroll kill had UCI and PSU locked at 17-17. However, a 4-1 Penn State run had the Lions leading 21-18 a short time later. The Anteaters took a second timeout, but the Nittany Lions were unfazed. UCI fought to within one, 24-23, but Penn State closed out the set with a 7-3 run for a 30-25 win.

Set three was tight from the beginning with neither team managing to develop a substantial lead of any kind. A kill and a block by UCI gave an 11-9 edge, but an error kept the Lions close. A 4-0 Anteater run increased the gap to five, 15-10, but a triple block by Sunder, Goas and Lipsitz with a Price kill following put PSU within three, 15-12. Despite managing to come within three twice, UC Irvine maintained at least a four-point lead until a 3-0 run by the Lions brought PSU back within three, 24-21. The Anteaters called a timeout, but notched an error to allow PSU within two, 24-22. The Nittany Lions failed to come any closer and despite a long rally at set-point for UCI ending with a Price kill, DuFault closed out set three for the Anteaters, 30-26.

After trading points early in set four, a 3-0 UCI run put the Anteaters up 6-3. A Turko kill and a Sunder ace put the Nittany Lions within one, 8-7, but DuFault kept UCI safe with a kill. Back-to-back putdowns by Lipsitz had the set tied at 9-9 and Penn State took the lead soon after, 13-11, after a kill by Lipsitz and two straight from Sunder. The Anteaters called a timeout and slowed the Lions’ momentum to tie it at 13-13. The teams traded points until two errors by PSU had the Anteaters leading, 18-16. Their lead was shortlived as two errors of their own tied the score at 18-18. The teams went back-and-forth until a 3-1 run by Penn State put the Lions up, 23-21. Lipsitz, Turko and Price each had a kill in the run. Penn State held on to their lead briefly until a 3-0 UCI run had the Anteaters back in front, 25-24. Penn State took a timeout, but the Anteaters put down another kill to take a two-point lead. Kills from junior Thomas Pereira (Brasilia, Brazil) and Price brought the Lions within one on two occasions. A joint block by Anthony Spittle and Wynne put the Anteaters in set-point position, but a Lipsitz kill kept the teams on the court. Clark won set three with a kill for UCI, 30-28.

The Nittany Lions wasted no time in the fifth set taking a 3-0 lead on two kills by Lipsitz and one from Pereira. The Anteaters called a timeout and managed to tally a point, but Lipsitz kept Penn State securely in the lead with another kill. The Nittany Lions held on to at least a two-point lead until a PSU service error and two straight Carroll kills had the fifth set knotted at 8-8. After a Penn State timeout, the Anteaters took the lead with two blocks, but kills by Lipsitz and Price had the Lions tying it up at 11. The score tied three times with Price putting down a huge kill to make it 14-14. Price made two straight solo blocks to secure the set for PSU with a 16-14 fifth set win.



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Conference News 2005-06 \| 2006-07 \| 2007-08 \| 2008-09 \| 2009-10 \| 2010-11 \| 2011-12 March 11, 2010 No. 9 Penn State Claws to a 3-2 Win at No. 11 UC Irvine No. 9 Penn State Claws to a 3-2 Win at No. 11 UC Irvine IRVINE, Calif., March 10, 2010 – The ninth-ranked Penn State men’s volleyball team (14-2) fought to a 3-2 (33-31, 30-25, 26-30, 28-30, 16-14) victory against No. 11 UC Irvine (11-11) on Wednesday night. The Nittany Lions are back in action on Friday, March 12 vs. BYU at the Long Beach State Active Ankle Challenge. Senior Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) tied his career-high with 30 kills, while senior Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) had a career-high 25. Redshirt sophomore Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) finished the night with 14 kills and a team-best three aces. Redshirt sophomore Edgardo Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) posted a personal-best 81 assists and junior libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) registered a career-high 25 digs. Freshman Nick Turko (Lewisberry, Pa.) led the Lions in blocks with four. Penn State attacked a .353 clip, but the Anteaters weren’t far off at .330. UCI had 88 kills, five aces, 57 digs and 12.5 total team blocks, while Penn State finished the match with 86 kills, four aces, 61 digs and 9.5 team blocks. The Anteaters jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set with Lipsitz tallying the first point for the Lions. Two straight UCI errors and a Sunder kill put PSU within one, 5-4. The Anteaters maintained the lead, but the Lions never let them break away. Back-to-back kills by Lipsitz had the score tied at 9-9. A Sunder kill put the Lions in the lead for the first time. The score tied five times before an attack error by UCI’s Jordan DuFault and a Sunder ace gave Penn State a two-point edge, 16-14. After a timeout, Penn State’s lead increased to three, 18-15, after a Lipsitz kill and a Price/Turko stuff. The Lions held off the Anteaters by a slim margin until a kill by Kevin Carroll and a PSU error allowed UCI to tie the set at 23-23. Price put the Lions back in front, but another PSU error had the score tied at 24-24. Price put down another kill before a UCI attack error gave Penn State some breathing room, 26-24. UCI took a timeout and despite registering another error, Carson Clark tallied two straight kills to bring the Anteaters within one, 27-26. The score tied four times and was knotted at 31-31 when the Nittany Lions finally put the set away. Kills from Turko and Price gave PSU a 33-31 first set win. The second set started out close, but Penn State took a two-point lead, 4-6, after kills from Turko and Sunder and a UCI attack error. DuFault tallied a kill for UCI, but Price answered right back to keep PSU in the lead. A 3-0 run by the Anteaters put UC Irvine in the lead, 8-7, but Goas set Price for a kill to tie it at 8-8. The score tied three times before UCI’s Kevin Wynne recorded a kill and a solo stuff for a 13-11 advantage. Lipsitz and Turko each tallied a kill and a bad set by the Anteaters had the score tied at 14-14. Two consecutive kills by Sunder put Penn State in the lead, 16-14, and sent UCI to the bench. After the break, two PSU errors and a Carroll kill had UCI and PSU locked at 17-17. However, a 4-1 Penn State run had the Lions leading 21-18 a short time later. The Anteaters took a second timeout, but the Nittany Lions were unfazed. UCI fought to within one, 24-23, but Penn State closed out the set with a 7-3 run for a 30-25 win. Set three was tight from the beginning with neither team managing to develop a substantial lead of any kind. A kill and a block by UCI gave an 11-9 edge, but an error kept the Lions close. A 4-0 Anteater run increased the gap to five, 15-10, but a triple block by Sunder, Goas and Lipsitz with a Price kill following put PSU within three, 15-12. Despite managing to come within three twice, UC Irvine maintained at least a four-point lead until a 3-0 run by the Lions brought PSU back within three, 24-21. The Anteaters called a timeout, but notched an error to allow PSU within two, 24-22. The Nittany Lions failed to come any closer and despite a long rally at set-point for UCI ending with a Price kill, DuFault closed out set three for the Anteaters, 30-26. After trading points early in set four, a 3-0 UCI run put the Anteaters up 6-3. A Turko kill and a Sunder ace put the Nittany Lions within one, 8-7, but DuFault kept UCI safe with a kill. Back-to-back putdowns by Lipsitz had the set tied at 9-9 and Penn State took the lead soon after, 13-11, after a kill by Lipsitz and two straight from Sunder. The Anteaters called a timeout and slowed the Lions’ momentum to tie it at 13-13. The teams traded points until two errors by PSU had the Anteaters leading, 18-16. Their lead was shortlived as two errors of their own tied the score at 18-18. The teams went back-and-forth until a 3-1 run by Penn State put the Lions up, 23-21. Lipsitz, Turko and Price each had a kill in the run. Penn State held on to their lead briefly until a 3-0 UCI run had the Anteaters back in front, 25-24. Penn State took a timeout, but the Anteaters put down another kill to take a two-point lead. Kills from junior Thomas Pereira (Brasilia, Brazil) and Price brought the Lions within one on two occasions. A joint block by Anthony Spittle and Wynne put the Anteaters in set-point position, but a Lipsitz kill kept the teams on the court. Clark won set three with a kill for UCI, 30-28. The Nittany Lions wasted no time in the fifth set taking a 3-0 lead on two kills by Lipsitz and one from Pereira. The Anteaters called a timeout and managed to tally a point, but Lipsitz kept Penn State securely in the lead with another kill. The Nittany Lions held on to at least a two-point lead until a PSU service error and two straight Carroll kills had the fifth set knotted at 8-8. After a Penn State timeout, the Anteaters took the lead with two blocks, but kills by Lipsitz and Price had the Lions tying it up at 11. The score tied three times with Price putting down a huge kill to make it 14-14. Price made two straight solo blocks to secure the set for PSU with a 16-14 fifth set win.