Harvard, Stanford Pull Off Saturday Night Upsets

Harvard edged past No. 17 Penn State in five sets, while Stanford held home court against No. 15 Concordia-Irvine in four. Other winners on Saturday night were No. 5 Loyola, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 14 Fort Wayne and No. 16 George Mason.

Harvard def. #17 Penn State 3-2 (25-13, 32-30, 25-27, 16-25, 15-12)

• Harvard moves to 9-11, 8-2 EIVA; Penn State falls to 12-9, 7-3 EIVA
• Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Box Score
• Penn State Recap / Harvard Recap

Key Statistics: Harvard racked up 11.5 blocks and outhit PSU .370 to .279 in the five-set win. The Crimson boasted a 11.5 to 4.5 lead in blocks as well. Penn State tallied a 63-59 advantage in kills and served up 13 aces, while allowing just seven. Harvard hit .375 or better in four sets, but hit .190 in Set 4. The Nittany Lions started the match with a -.040 effort, but hit .320 or better the rest of the way.

Stat Leaders: Five Harvard players managed eight or more kills led by senior middles Riley Moore (14) and Brad Gretsch (13). Sophomore outside Erik Johnsson and junior middle Trevor Dow chipped in nine putaways each, while senior setter Marko Kostich added eight putdowns to round out the offense. Moore hit at an errorless .875 clip (14-0-16) and put up three blocks, while Gretsch added nine digs and two aces. Dow notched a .562 hitting effort (9-0-16) and tallied a team-best seven blocks and three aces. Sophomore setter Matthew Ctrvtlik posted a 22-assist, 10-dig double-double and turned in five kills and four blocks.

Four Penn State players downed double-digit kill tallies, led by redshirt sophomore opposite Calvin Mende‘s 15 putaways. Redshirt senior middle Kevin Gear, redshirt junior outside Matthew McLaren and redshirt sophomore outside Frank Melvin chipped in 10 kills apiece. Gear hit at a team-high .588 clip and was one of three Nittany Lions with two blocks. Redshirt senior opposite Jalen Penrose served up nine of the team’s 13 aces, while adding six kills and two blocks.

It Was Over When: After dropping Sets 3 and 4, Harvard grabbed an early 5-3 lead in Set 5 on two PSU service errors and two Gretsch putaways. The teams tied at 6-all, before the Crimson pulled away with a 6-2 run. Two Moore kills and two more Nittany Lion miscues helped Harvard to the 12-8 advantage. A McLaren putaway and Penrose ace had Penn State within two at 12-10. The teams traded point for point, until a PSU hitting error capped the 15-12 Harvard victory.

Stanford (RV) def. #15 Concordia Irvine 3-1 (24-26, 36-34, 25-19, 25-21)

• Stanford moves to 6-17, 3-7 MPSF; Concordia Irvine falls to 13-14, 4-7 MPSF
• Palo Alto, California
• Box Score
• Concordia Irvine Recap / Stanford Recap

Key Statistics: Stanford won all statistical categories except blocks in its second straight victory. The Cardinal bested the Eagles .381 to .295 in hitting efficiency and edged CUI in kills (71-58) and aces (5-3). Concordia boasted a 12.5 to 8 lead in blocks.

Stat Leaders: Junior outside Jordan Ewert (22), Jaylen Jasper (19) and redshirt senior middle Kevin Rakestraw (16) posted double-digit kill tallies, while freshman middle Kyler Presho chipped in nine putaways. Ewert rounded out a double-double with 14 digs, while Jasper added seven digs and four aces. Presho hit at a team-leading .571 clip and put up six blocks. Sophomore setter Paul Bischoff accounted for 59 assists, eight digs and five stuffs.

Redshirt sophomore outside Darcy Taig downed 18 kills on a .500 hitting effort to go with five blocks. Senior outside Jonathan Predney (13) and junior middle Hunter Howell (12) also turned in double-digit kills. Howell hit at a team-high .529 clip and notched a team-best six blocks. Redshirt sophomore outside Raymond Barsemian added eight kills, nine digs and five blocks, but hit .000 on the night.

It Was Over When: Neither team led by more than three as the teams played to a 14-all tie in Set 4. The Cardinal scored four of the next six points, with kills by Rakestraw, Jasper and Presho en route to an 18-16 advantage. A service error stopped Stanford momentarily, but putaways by Ewert and Jasper and two Concordia miscues made it 22-18 Stanford. The teams traded points over the final six serves, with a Rakestraw putaway giving the Cardinal their first match-point try at 24-20 and a Ewert putdown ending the night.

#5 Loyola Chicago def. #18 McKendree 3-1 (32-30, 25-21, 24-26, 25-11)

• Loyola moves to 20-5, 10-2 MIVA; McKendree falls to 11-12, 6-6 MIVA
• Lebanon, Illinois
• Box Score
• Loyola Recap / McKendree Recap

Key Statistics: The Ramblers dominated the fourth set, outhitting McKendree .474 to -.444, to seal the victory. For the match, Loyola outdid the Bearcats in hitting efficiency (.273 to .073), kills (49-45), aces (4-1) and blocks (11-8).

Stat Leaders: Senior middle Jeff Jendryk (12) and junior outside Collin Mahan (11) paced a group of five Ramblers with eight or more kills. JUnior middle Paul Narup (9), senior opposite Ricky Gevis (8) and senior outside Ryan Jamison (8) rounded out the offense. Narup hit at a team-high .750 clip (9-0-12), while Jendryk managed a .647 effort (12-1-17) and team-leading five blocks. Mahan also added five stuffs and was one of three Loyola players with seven digs. Gevis served up three of the team’s four aces and notched four blocks.

Senior outside Nolan Rueter downed a match-high 15 kills on a .323 hitting effort for McKendree and just missed a double-double by adding a team-best nine digs. Senior outside Jared Wilcox followed with nine kills and eight digs, while redshirt freshman outside Ethan Carroll chipped in nine putaways, four blocks and the team’s lone ace. Redshirt senior middle Brendan Schmidt put up a team-leading six blocks and added six kills.

It Was Over When: McKendree scored the first three points in Set 4, but Loyola rattled off the next nine in a row as the Bearcats committed six errors. The Ramblers upped their lead to nine at 18-9 with help from three McKendree errors and two blocks and a kill by Jendryk. Loyola closed out the match on a 7-2 run, including four Jendryk putaways and capped by a solo stuff by Mahan.

#8 Ohio State def. #9 Lewis 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-19)

• Ohio State moves to 19-4, 10-2 MIVA; Lewis falls to 16-10, 7-5 MIVA
• Columbus, Ohio
• Box Score
• Lewis Recap / Ohio State Recap

Key Statistics: The Buckeyes registered a .417 hitting effort for the match, while holding Lewis to a .260 effort. Ohio State also used 10 aces to best the Flyers (10-2 in aces) and 44 kills (to 30). Lewis owned a 5-4 edge in blocks, but couldn’t keep the OSU from its eighth-straight victory.

Stat Leaders: Senior outside hitters Maxime Hervoir (13) and Nicolas Szerszen (12) and redshirt freshman opposite Jake Hanes (12) carried the weight offensively for OSU, each hitting better than .400 for the match. Hanes served up three aces as did junior setter Sanil Thomas. Redshirt junior middle Blake Leeson added a team-high three blocks, while Thomas accounted for eight digs and Szerszen pulled up six.

Redshirt sophomore outside Ryan Coenen led the Flyers with 11 kills, while redshirt junior opposite Mitch Perinar and redshirt freshman middle TJ Murray tacked on six apiece. Murray hit at a team-high .444 clip and notched three blocks. Junior setter Matt Yoshimoto and redshirt junior outside Julian Moses served up an ace apiece.

It Was Over When: The teams split the first 20 points of Set 3, with five Buckeyes notching kills and Lewis scoring on six OSU miscues. Two Hervoir kills and two Flyer errors pushed Ohio State up 14-12, but a kill and a block by Coenen knotted the score again. From there, the Buckeyes put together a 7-2 run, vaulting ahead 21-16. Three Lewis errors, an ace by Thomas and a stuff by Hanes and Leeson aided the rally and forced the Flyers to use up both timeouts. Two kills and a block by Murray only narrowed the gap to four at 23-19. Hanes wrapped up the night with back-to-back putaways.

#14 Fort Wayne def. Lindenwood 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 25-19)

• Fort Wayne moves to 17-9, 6-7 MIVA; Lindenwood falls to 8-14, 2-10 MIVA
• Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Box Score
• Lindenwood Recap / Fort Wayne Recap

Key Statistics: The Mastodon’s outblocked the Lions 15-6.5 and hit at a .385 clip in the victory. Fort Wayne also boasted a 55-40 lead in kills and held Lindenwood to a .139 hitting effort. Both teams served up four aces. The Mastodons gave away 22 points on service errors.

Stat Leaders: Sophomore outside Pelegrin Vargas brought it offensively, pounding down 25 kills at a .676 clip (25-2-34), while adding six digs. Redshirt junior outside Tony Price chipped in 11 putaways and two aces, while freshman middle Tomas Gago notched nine kills on a team-best .750 clip (9-0-12) and five blocks. Junior setter Michael Keegan nearly pulled off a triple-double adding nine digs and a team-high seven blocks to his 49 assists. Sophomore middle Richie Diedrich also managed seven stuffs.

Sophomore outside Nick Stevenson led a trio of Lions with seven of more kills. Stevenson posted 10 kills and five digs, while junior middle Connor Hipelius (9) and sophomore middle Sam Schindler (7) followed offensively. Schindler served up three aces, while Hipelius hit at a team-high .316 clip and added three stuffs. Senior outside Nathan Van Dellen paced the team at the net with five blocks.

It Was Over When: The Mastodons snapped a 9-all tie with an 8-2 run, including four Lindenwood errors and two Colton Stone blocks, to go up 17-11. The Lions called timeout and scored three of the next four, including a hitting and service error, to pulled within four at 18-14, but could not break through. Three Vargas kills helped Fort Wayne to a 22-16 advantage. Another Lindenwood break prompted two Mastodon service errors and a stuff by Hipelius and Van Dellen had the team back within four again at 23-14. In the end, a Vargas kill and Stone ace capped the 25-19 win.

#16 George Mason def. Princeton 3-2 (23-25, 25-11, 22-25, 25-18, 15-9)

• George Mason moves to 14-10, 10-0 EIVA; Princeton falls to 9-13, 5-5 EIVA
• Princeton, New Jersey
• Box Score
• George Mason Recap / Princeton Recap

Key Statistics: The Patriots bested the Tigers in every statistical category, boasting a .372 to .224 advantage in hitting efficiency and a 9-3 lead in aces. George Mason also outdid Princeton in kills (62-50) and blocks (8-7.5) en route to its school record 10th straight conference win.

Stat Leaders: Sophomore opposite Hayden Wagner notched a match-high 19 kills, while redshirt senior outside Christian Malias and junior outside Kyle Barnes followed with 15 and 11 respectively. Barnes hit .455, served up three aces and added seven digs, while Malias pulled up nine saves. Senior setter Brian Negron chalked up 51 assists, seven digs, four kills, three blocks and two aces.

Sophomore middle Greg Huhmann accounted for 17 kills and four blocks for the Tigers. Sophomore outside Greg Luck and sophomore outside Parker Dixon chipped in 11 putaways each. Senior middle Junior Oboh added eight kills and a team-best six blocks, while Dixon pulled up nine digs. Huhmann, Oboh and senior outside Mike Fuerst served up an ace apiece.

It Was Over When: George Mason wasted no time seizing control of Set 5, jumping out to a 7-2 advantage, including aces by Bryce Gatling and Brian Negron. Back-to-back kills by Barnes pushed the edge to seven at 11-4. The teams split the next six points, leading to a 14-7 score, as Huhmann supplied a kill and block for Princeton, and the Patriots got kills from three different players. A GMU service error and a putdown by Oboh kept the match going, before Negron downed the final kill.