Box Score
NEWARK, NJ—Powerful Penn State, currently ranked eighth in the nation, defeated NJIT, 3-1, in an Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association match Friday night at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
Penn State, still unbeaten in conference play, improves to 8-0 on the season in the EIVA and 15-3 overall, while the Highlanders fall to 8-12 overall, 3-3 in the conference.
The Nittany Lions cruised in the first set, 25-15, and came away in the second frame with a 25-21 victory. The home team battled back in the third stanza for a 25-22 win, but Penn State closed out the match with a 25-20 victory in the fourth set.
Penn State was led by senior outside hitter Joe Sunder, the reigning EIVA Offensive Player of the Week, with a match-high 19 kills on 34 swings and just four errors for a .441 hitting percentage, while freshman Nick Goodell added 11 kills.
Senior setter Edgardo Goas notched a match-high 46 assists and added seven digs for the Nittany Lions while freshman libero Connor Curry led the match with 13 digs. Aaron Russell combined for four total blocks (one solo, three assists).
The Highlanders were paced by
TJ Jurko, who missed the previous three matches due to an ankle injury. The freshman played in the final three sets, combining for 11 kills and five digs.
Aurel Griesshammer added eight kills, followed by
Kevin Van Oss's six for the Highlanders. Senior setter
Adam Gustafson piled up a team-high 24 sets and libero
Brady Smith led the defense with eight digs. Freshman
Chris Kaepernick posted seven digs and
Doug Battersby combined for a match-high five total blocks (one solo, four assits).
In the first frame, NJIT grabbed a 6-3 lead to start the match, but Penn State rallied back on a 12-1 run for a 15-7 advantage. The Nittany Lions stretched their lead to nine, 22-13, on a kill by Russel and Penn State scored the final three points of the set for a 25-15 win.
The second set saw seven ties, the final at 12-12, on a Penn State service error. The Nittany Lions then went on a 6-2 run for an 18-14 lead, resulting in an NJIT timeout. The Highlanders fought back and scored three straight points pulling within one, 20-19, on kills from Griesshammer and
Herman Kantushov. After a kill by Penn State's Turko, the Nittany Lions extended the lead to four, 24-20, and Peter Russell put the match away with a kill for a 25-21 victory. Goodell led the set with five kills followed by Russell with four.
In the third frame, the Highlanders were led by Jurko's seven kills on 15 swings for a .467 hitting percentage with no errors. The set remained close throughout and with the score tied 18-18, the Highlanders scored three consecutive points after a kill by Jurko for a 21-19 lead. The Nittany Lions scored the next two points but the home team gave itself a three-point cushion, 24-21, after a kill by Jurko. Jurko posted his seventh kill of the night on set point as the Highlanders took the third frame, 25-22.
In the final set of the match, Nittany Lions' Sunder took control, notching seven kills on 11 attempts with one error for a .545 hitting percentage as Penn State posted a 25-20 victory for the match.
The Highlanders will have a quick turnaround and host Saint Francis on Saturday at 4pm in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
