Conference News
No. 5 Penn State Defeats No. 10 Ohio State, 3-1
No. 5 Penn State Defeats No. 10 Ohio
State, 3-1
HONOLULU, Hawaii, Jan. 9, 2010 - The No. 5 Penn State men's
volleyball team earned a 3-1 (30-16, 30-27, 24-30, 30-25) victory
against No. 10 Ohio State (0-3). Redshirt sophomore Joe
Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) led all players with 17
kills.
Seniors Will Price (Gaithersburg, Md.) and
Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) also
tallied double-digit kills with 15 and 13, respectfully. Lipsitz
also contributed a team-best nine total blocks. Freshman
Tom Comfort (Orchard Park, N.Y.) finished the
match with seven kills, a team-best four aces and four total
blocks, including two solo. Redshirt sophomore Edgardo
Goas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished our 49 assists, while
junior libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto
Rico) made 18 saves.
Penn State (2-1) recorded a .299 attack percentage. The Nittany
Lions totaled 57 kills, 51 helpers, eight aces, 47 digs and 16.0
total team blocks. The Lions held the Buckeyes to .169 hitting.
Ohio State tallied 54 kills, 48 assists, eight aces, 40 digs and
11.5 team blocks.
The Nittany Lions took a 5-1 lead to start the match as errors
plagued the Buckeyes early on. OSU came within two, 6-4, after an
ace and a PSU error, but Penn State was soon up by five after a
kill and ace by Price and a block by Lipsitz and Sunder. The
Nittany Lions maintained a four-point lead until two Buckeye kills
and an ace put Ohio State within two, 12-10. Penn State took off on
a 13-2 run to increase its advantage to 25-12. A kill from OSU's
Shawn Sangrey cut off the run, but Price tallied another kill and
an ace to make it 27-13. The Buckeyes managed three more points
before a kill by Comfort and a joint stuff from freshman
Ian Hendries (Cardiff, Calif.) and Sunder closed
out the set for PSU, 30-16.
Ohio State jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second set, but
back-to-back kills by Lipsitz had the set tied at 3-3. Penn State
took the lead on a Price kill and increased their lead to two, 6-4
on another Price ace. The Buckeyes came within one on eight
occasions before the Nittany Lions earned some breathing room after
two straight OSU errors, 15-12. The score tied three times before
another Ohio State error and a Lipsitz kill put Penn State up by
two, 19-17. After a Buckeye timeout, OSU worked to within one,
21-20, on two kills and an ace. However, the Nittany Lions managed
to stay at least one step ahead of the Buckeyes and were soon up by
three, 26-23, forcing another OSU timeout. The timeout slowed Penn
State enough to allow the Buckeyes to come within one, 27-26. The
Nittany Lions took a break and after an OSU service error, Lipsitz
put down two for a 30-27 set two win.
The Buckeyes came out on fire in the third set taking an 8-3 lead.
Penn State's three points came on a Lipsitz kill and two OSU
service errors. The Lions worked within four but the Buckeyes
failed to slow and were soon ahead by seven, 12-5. Two OSU errors
and a block by Goas and Lipsitz soon had PSU within four, 12-8.
Each team registered a service error before two Ohio State kills
had the Buckeyes leading by six 15-9. Ohio State's lead expanded to
seven, 19-12, before the Lions began making a comeback. Three OSU
errors and a Lipsitz kill put the Nittany Lions within four, 20-16.
Ohio State regrouped and was soon back ahead by six. Another OSU
error and a kill and solo stuff by Lipsitz had the Lions within
three, 22-19. Ohio State never slowed and held the Lions to 24
points to secure set three.
The fourth set was close from the start. The score tied 11 times
before Ohio State grabbed a slim two-point lead, 14-12. Kills from
Comfort and Sunder tied the set at 14-14, but the Buckeyes
maintained control with back-to-back kills to move ahead by two,
16-14. Ohio State's lead increased to three before Penn State
managed to tied it up at 20-20 with a monster kill by Lipsitz. The
Nittany Lions took the lead for the first time since early on in
the set, 23-20, and forced the Buckeyes to the bench. Shortly after
a Comfort ace had the Lions leading 25-21. Three kills, an OSU
error and a Penn State stuff secured the set, 30-25, for the
Nittany Lions.








