No. 8 Lewis Men Rally for 3-2 Win over No. 13 Penn State

  0 Wendy Mayer | March 25th, 2017 | College - Men's Indoor, EIVA, MIVA

Match Stats

  • 8 Lewis 3, No. 13 Penn State 2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-11)
  • Lewis moves to 18-6; Penn State falls to 13-8
  • Romeoville, Ill.
  • Attendance: 471
  • Box Score

No. 8 Lewis rallied from a two-set deficit to hold home court in a Top 15 battle with No. 13 Penn State.

Redshirt freshman outside hitter Ryan Coenen was the lone Flyer with double-digit kills, posting 16. Redshirt sophomore opposite Mitch Perinar and redshirt senior middle blocker Jacob Schmiegelt added nine apiece, while each hitting nearly .400. Perinar hit. 444, while Schmiegelt hit at a .389 clip and racked up a team-leading six blocks. Senior outside Trevor Weiskircher chipped in eight kills on a .375 hitting effort. Defensively, sophomore setter Matt Yoshimoto rounded out a double-double with 10 digs to go with his 35 assists and three blocks.

Senior outside hitter Chris Nugent led the way for Penn State with 15 kills, a .310 hitting efficiency, a team-best three blocks and seven digs. Redshirt junior outside Aiden Albrecht added 14 kills and nine digs, while redshirt freshman opposite Calvin Mende also reached double-digits with 10 kills to go with a team-leading three aces. Redshirt sophomore libero Royce Clemens paced the Nittany Lions with 14 digs. Redshirt sophomore middle block Kevin Gear put up three stuffs along with Nugent. Penn State only played eight men in the contest.

As a team, Lewis outhit PSU .341 to .275. The Nittany Lions actually won every other major statistical category except blocks (8-7 Lewis) and aces (tied 8-8). PSU scored seven more points in the match (79-72), put down eight more kills (64-56) and outdug the Flyers 40-32 in the loss.

Penn State took an early 5-3 lead in the decisive fifth set, but trailed 8-6 at the changeover before falling 15-11. A Kyle Bugee ace put Lewis ahead 11-7. Two more Nittany Lion hitting errors and a kill by redshirt sophomore Jake Walenga put the Flyers on the hill at 14-10. A Schmiegelt kill served as the final nail in the comeback win.

Lewis built a 14-10 lead midway through Set 1, but PSU rallied to take an 18-17 lead, thanks to three Flyer miscues and kills by four different players. After a tie at 18, Penn State surged ahead 22-18 on an ace by Albrecht. A kill by Mende gave the Nittany Lions the first chance at the set at 24-20. Nugent pounded down the final kill two serves later.

Trailing 8-6 in Set 2, Penn State rattled off 10 straight points, including four kills and a block by Nugent and two Mende aces, to jump ahead 16-8. Lewis used both of its timeouts during the rally, but managed to slow the Nittany Lions with eight of the next 10 points to narrow the gap to two at 18-16. Kills from five different players fueled the run. PSU called timeout, but Lewis came out of the break with a 6-3 run to take the lead at 22-21. The Nittany Lions stole away the set at 25-23, scoring four of the final five points.

The teams split the first 24 points of Set 3, but five PSU attack errors and missed served helped Lewis build a five-point advantage at 22-17.The Nittany Lions cut the margin to three at 23-20, but kills by Coehen and Perinar kept Lewis alive in the match.

The Flyers carried the momentum into Set 4, vaulting ahead 8-3 in the early goings. Penn State pulled within one at 12-11 and 13-12, as Albrecht and opposite Jalen Penrose each downed two kills. A trio of putaways and two PSU errors made it 18-13 Lewis, but against Penn State countered, this time with a 5-1 run, including two Penrose aces. The Flyers scored six of the final eight to even the match at two sets apiece.

 

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: Lewis Athletics

Romeoville, Ill. – The No. 7 Lewis University men’s volleyball team rallied from a two-game deficit to earn the 21-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-11 non-conference victory over No. 13 Penn State at Neil Carey Arena on Friday (March 24) night.

Lewis redshirt freshman outside hitter Ryan Coenen (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) notched a match-high 16 kills, while sophomore setter Matt Yoshimoto (Ventura, Calif./Adolfo Camarillo) had a double-double of 35 assists and 10 digs.

Lewis redshirt senior middle blocker Jacob Schmiegelt (Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook) had a match-high six blocks and collected nine kills and a hitting percentage of .389 (9 kills, 2 errors, 18 attacks).

With the win, Lewis improves to 18-6 overall while the Nittany Lions fall to 13-8 on the campaign.

As a team, Lewis hit .341 (56-14-123), while the Nittany Lions had a hitting percentage of .275 (64-26-138).

Lewis returns to action on Saturday (March 25), as the Flyers welcome Saint Francis (PA) to Neil Carey Arena for a 7 PM first serve.

Courtesy: Penn State Athletics

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – No. 7 Lewis outlasted No. 13 Penn State 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 11-15) Friday night in Neil Carey Arena as the Nittany Lions fell in non-conference action on the road.

Penn State jumped out to a 2-0 lead heading into the break as the Nittany Lions dealt Lewis back-to-back loses in the first two sets. Lewis would counter with a two set run of their own to even the match at 2-2 forcing a fifth and deciding set.

Penn State kept it close but ultimately fell 15-11 in the final set dropping the Nittany Lions to 13-8 overall on the season.

Chris Nugent led the Lions with 15 kills on 29 attempts hitting .310 while adding a service ace, seven digs and three blocks.

Luke Braswell led Penn State with 56 assist, adding one kill as well, while Kevin Gear tied with Nugent for the team led in blocks on the night.

Royce Clemens led the team in digs recording 14 followed closely by Aidan Albrecht at nine.

Penn State recorded 7.0 team blocks and hit .275 collectively, while Lewis recorded 8.0 team blocks and posted a .341 team hitting percentage.

Penn State returns to the court tomorrow night against Loyola in Chicago, Ill. with a first serve slated for 7 p.m.

For more on Nittany Lion men’s volleyball, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateMVBall

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About Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer has worked in athletics media relations for the last 20 years. The Northwest Missouri State alumna is currently senior writer for Volleymob.com after spending the last 15 years with Purdue athletics.

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