Lions make a sweep over the Tigers
Penn State emerged as victors over the Princeton men’s volleyball team this Saturday as the Nittany Lions managed to make a clean sweep over Tigers. At the end of the conference play match between the two teams, the score board showed final set scores of 25-17, 25-16, 25-23.
With its recent victory, the number nine ranking Penn State now have the total number of overall season wins at eight at the expense of three losses. The Lions have been able to secure an impressive four wins in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association while tallying no loss.
Prominent amongst the Lions were the names of Tom Comfort and Peter Russell. Comfort, who is a sophomore for Penn State, had the highest number of kills in the match at 12. Freshman, Russell, contributed towards his team by posting a total of eight kills at a commendable attacking percentage of .583. Edgardo Goas, a junior Redshirt made his presence felt by making 21 assists whereas Dennis Del Valle, the senior libero for the Lions, had the highest number of digs in his team at nine.
Both teams played competitively in the first set of the match but the Lions broke free of the circle and got ahead with the help of a 6-0 run that gave them a lead of 12-5. Princeton could not really come to grips afterwards and let Penn State to extend the lead till 17-8. The Tigers opted for a timeout at this point after which they were able to take the game close to 19-14. But the Princeton effort was not good enough and the Lions were able to take the set at 25-17.
Building on the momentum generated in the first set, the Lions took an early lead at 6-3. This caused Princeton to call for a timeout. Unlike the first set, the timeout did not work in favour of the Tigers and the Lions extended their lead to 9-4. The Tigers could not close the gap significantly and Penn State kept on dominating the game at 20-12. After another Princeton timeout, the Tigers managed to up their score to 22-12, with the Lions serving. Penn State did not let the Tigers affect their play and aided by Comfort’s kills, went on to win the second set at 25-16.
The Tigers were determined to contest the third set of the match as best as they could. As a result, there were six ties reached before Penn State got the lead at 8-6. The Tigers tried to overcome the lead but the Lions managed to extend it till 11-7. Princeton fell back at calling for a time out but it turned out to be of no avail to them. Penn State was able to make a 8-3 run and got the score board to show 19-10 in their favour. The Tigers did not let it overwhelm them and put on a commendable effort, bringing the score to 24-20. However, it wasn’t enough as the Lions sealed the deal by securing a win at 25-23.
Next in line for the Lions are matches on the 18 and 19 February against Mount Olive and Lees McRae respectively.
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