Friday Recap: Princeton Upsets #18 Saint Francis; PSU, Barton Cruise

Princeton issued the upset of the night, picking up a home victory No. 18 Saint Francis in four sets with help from a strong blocking effort.

No. 11 Penn State and No. 15 George Mason earned road wins over NJIT and Sacred Heart respectively to move to 5-1 and 5-0 in EIVA action.

No. 17 Fort Wayne and Barton grabbed non-conference victories to pad their resumes to wrap up Friday’s early evening slate.

#11 Penn State def. NJIT 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-15)

• Penn State (10-3, 5-1 EIVA); NJIT (3-10, 1-3 EIVA)
• Newark, New Jersey
• Box Score
• Penn State Recap / NJIT Recap

Key Stats: A tough serve and efficient offense were the difference in a Nittany Lions sweep on Friday. Penn State outserved the Highlanders 8-1 and outhit them .426 to .129 in the match. PSU also outdid NJIT 34-24 in kills and 6-3 in blocks. Penn State hit .300 or better in all three sets, including .571 in Set 2, while the Highlanders hit just .120 in Set 1 and .000 in Set 3.

Stat Leaders: Five Nittany Lion players put down four of more kills, led by redshirt sophomore opposite Calvin Mende‘s nine. Mende hit .500 and put up a team-best four blocks, while redshirt senior middle Kevin Gear added eight kills on a .500 clip to go with three stuffs. Redshirt junior outside Matthew McLaren (7), redshirt senior outside Aidan Albrecht (6) and redshirt senior opposite Jalen Penrose (4) rounded out the offense. Albrecht served up three aces, while McLaren added two perfect serves.

Sophomore opposite Piotr Namiotko notched eight kills, while freshman opposite Alvaro Gimeno added seven to lead the Highlanders. Sophomore middle Luca Berger followed with four putaways and a team-best two blocks alongside Namiotko.

It Was Over When: Penn State used an 8-0 run to pull away in Set 3, turning a slim one-point edge to 13-4 blowout. Gear accounted for two blocks and a kill, while Albrecht served up an ace in the rally. NJIT would get no closer than seven the rest of the stanza. Five Highlander miscues and aces by Luke Braswell and Albrecht helped PSU to the 25-15 win. 

Princeton def. #18 Saint Francis 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 25-20)

• Princeton moves to 3-11, 2-4 EIVA; Saint Francis falls to 7-11, 2-4 EIVA
• Princeton, New Jersey
• Box Score
• Saint Francis Recap / Princeton Recap

Key Stats: Princeton boasted a seven block lead (12.5 to 5.5) and edged Saint Francis in aces (3-2) and hitting percentage (.210 to .193) to hold home court Friday night. The Red Flash owned a 10-kill advantage (56-46), but could not pull off the road win.

Stat Leaders: Princeton used a balanced offense with four players notching seven or more kills in the victory. Sophomore middle George Huhmann (14), sophomore outside Greg Luck (11), sophomore outside Parker Dixon (8) and freshman outside Jess Hunt (7) made up the group. Huhmann hit at a team-best .393 clip and put up eight blocks, while Hunt and Dixon added four stuffs apiece. Senior middle Junior Oboh notched five kills and four blocks. Luck rounded out a double-double with 11 digs, while freshman setter Joe Kelly turned in a 34-assist, 13-dig effort.

A trio of players downed double-digit kill efforts for Saint Francis, led by senior outside Brandon Buck‘s 17 putaways, nine digs and two aces. Redshirt senior outside Stephen Braswell (14) and junior outside hitter Evan Feltz (13) followed offensively. Junior middle Cole Carver added seven putaways on a team-high .545 hitting percentage, while senior middle Keith Kegerreis put up three blocks. Redshirt sophomore setter Joseph Koszelak notched a 48-asssist, 13-dig double-double for the Red Flash.

It Was Over When: Set 4 was a one-point game midway through at 14-13 Princeton, when the Tigers pulled away. A kill and a block by Oboh, three kills by Luck and two by Huhmann helped Princeton to a 22-15 lead. The Red Flash did not go away, however, rallying to within four three times, last at 24-20 on a triple block by Cole Thompson, Carver and Buck. A putaway by Jess Hunt cut the SFU comeback short, closing out the match at 25-20.

#15 George Mason def. Sacred Heart 3-1 (19-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-19)

• George Mason moves to 9-7, 5-0 EIVA; Sacred Heart falls to 2-9, 0-6 EIVA
• Fairfield, Connecticut
• Box Score
• George Mason Recap / Sacred Heart Recap

Key Stats: George Mason won its fifth-straight match hitting .349 and boasting a 10-6 lead in blocks against Sacred Heart. The Patriots hit .269 or better in all four sets, including a .419 effort in Set 3, while holding SHU under .200 in all but Set 1 (.524). GMU also led 52-43 in kills and 7-5 in aces.

Stat Leaders: Sophomore opposite Hayden Wagner paced the Patriots with 18 kills, four blocks and three aces, while junior outside Kyle Barnes (14) and redshirt senior outside Christian Malias (13) followed offensively. Each hit .346 or better with Barnes hitting at a team-high .423 effort. Malias and sophomore middle Bryce Gatling put up four stuffs apiece.

Sophomore middle Rob Chatterton (15) and redshirt junior right side Emerson Waumans (13) led the way for the Pioneers, hitting .376 and .365 respectively. Redshirt junior middle Taylor Bloomquist added seven kills, but hit .000. Junior middle Michael McLaughlin put up four blocks to lead SFU at the net.

It Was Over When: The Pioneers led it 4-2 in Set 4 after a block and two Patriot miscues. A 12-2 run turned the tides for George Mason as Wagner notched two blocks, a kill and an ace, and Gatling registered two blocks and a kill as the Patriots went up 14-6. Sacred Heart rallied to within four at 22-18 behind four Waumans kills and two by Chatterton. GMU called timeout and got a kill from Wagner and a Brian Negron ace out of the break to set up match point at 24-18. A stuff by Langston Payne and Wagner gave the Patriots the win.

#17 Fort Wayne def. Alderson Broaddus 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-18, 25-20)

• Fort Wayne moves to 12-4; Alderson Broaddus falls to 3-12
• Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Box Score
• Fort Wayne Recap / AB Recap

Key Stats: The Mastodons dominated the net with 12 blocks, while also outhitting Alderson Broaddus .282 to .130 in a four-set non-conference win. The Battlers edged Fort Wayne 45-44 in kills, but trailed 12-4 in blocks and 2-1 in aces.

Stat Leaders: Sophomore outside Pelegrin Vargas and redshirt junior outside Colton Stone accounted for 32 of Fort Wayne’s 44 kills, turning in 17 and 15 respectively, while each serving up an ace. Stone hit at a team-best .565 clip and added seven digs, while Vargas hit .375. Freshman outside Austin Gerwig downed seven kills, while redshirt junior outside Tony Price put up eight blocks and freshman setter Frederico Santos added five stuffs.

Freshman outside Alex Sands and senior outside Francisco Cabrera split the load for Alderson Broaddus, each notching double-digit kill efforts with 14 and 13 respectively. Cabrera rounded out a double-double with 12 digs and the team’s lone ace, while freshman middle Chase Christiansen tallied eight kills on a .500 hitting effort. Senior middle Myles Miller added five kills and a team-high three blocks.

It Was Over When: After splitting the first 20 points of Set 4, Fort Wayne made its move, pushing out to a six-point edge at 20-14 with help from five Battler miscues and two Gerwig putaways. Anderson Broaddus scored four of the next five, including two Mastodon miscues and kills by Christiansen and Cabrera to pull within three at 21-18. Two Stone putdowns lifted the Mastodons to match point at 24-19. A Vargas kill ended the match.

Barton (RV) def. Queens 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-19)

• Barton moves to 11-6; Queens falls to 3-14
• Charlotte, North Carolina 7 p.m.
• Box Score
• Barton Recap / Queens Recap

Key Stats: Barton won every statistical category in a non-conference sweep of Queens, outhitting the Royals .242 to .051 with help from a 12-7 lead in blocks. The Bulldogs also held a 39-27 edge in kills and 6-2 advantage in aces. Barton was consistent in hitting over .200 all three sets, while Queens got worse throughout the match, starting with a .185 effort and ending with a -.067 clip.

Stat Leaders: Sophomore right side Angelos Mandilaris and junior outside Vasilis Mandilaris paced the Bulldogs with 14 and 11 putaways respectively. Angelos hit at a .281 clip  to go with three blocks, while Vasilis added six stuffs. Senior middle Michael Perez added five kills, two aces and six digs, while junior middle Justice Lord notched a team-high seven blocks and three kills.

Junior right side Marco Vecellio tallied 10 kills to lead Queens, while freshman middle Aleksandar Perisic chipped in six kill and seven blocks, while hitting at a .500 clip. Senior outside Jake Dube added five putaways, but hit .000 for the match.

It Was Over When: Queens boasted a 7-4 lead early in Set 3 as Barton committed three errors and Perisic added a kill and a block. The Bulldogs turned things around with a 9-2 run, including three Royals miscues and three blocks by Lord. Down 13-9, Queens called timeout and pulled within two at 14-12, but Barton scored six straight to make it 20-12. Vasilis Mandilaris added two blocks and Angelos tacked on a kill and a block to help the Bulldogs pull away. The margin stayed at five or more the rest of the way. A Lord putaway capped the night.