Match Stats
- No. 13 Penn State 3, Saint Francis 0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-20)
- Penn State moves to 21-10; Saint Francis falls to 16-15
- Penn State Wins EIVA Conference Tournament Title and Automatic NCAA Tournament berth
- University Park, Pennsylvania
- Attendance: 1303
- Box Score
Penn State was nearly unstoppable offensively, hitting at a .418 clip in the match, while also putting up a strong blocking front in a sweep of Saint Francis in the EIVA Tournament final Saturday. The Nittany Lions outblocked the Red Flash 8.5 to 2 and held the team to a .075 hitting effort in the 25-19, 25-14, 25-20 sweep. The win gives Penn State its 19th EIVA title in the last 20 years.
#WeAre EIVA Champions ? pic.twitter.com/w6afAfhrVU
— PSU Men's Volleyball (@PennStateMVBALL) April 23, 2017
Senior outside hitter Chris Nugent and redshirt junior outside Aiden Albrecht tallied nine kills apiece, each hitting over .300 on the night and accounting for five digs as well to lead the Nittany Lions. Nugent hit at a .438 clip, while Albrecht chipped in a team-best four blocks. Redshirt senior middle Matt Callaway and redshirt freshman opposite Calvin Mende followed with six kills apiece. Callaway hit at a .600 clip with no errors in 10 swings. Redshirt junior middle Kevin Gear rounded out the offense with five kills on an .833 effort, while adding five digs and four blocks. Redshirt sophomore libero Royce Clemens pulled up a team-best 10 digs.
Redshirt freshman outside Michael Fisher led the Red Flash with 12 kills, while senior opposite Jeff Hogan followed with seven. Junior middle Keith Kegerreis added five kills and hit at a team-best .300 clip. Sophomore libero Gabe Woffindin registered a team-best six digs.
The Nittany Lions hit at a .474 clip in the opening set en route to the 25-19 win. The teams split the first eight points of the night, but Penn State soon surged ahead 15-9. A trio of SFU miscues and kills by five different players aided the rally. After trading points for eight served, the Red Flash managed two points in a row on a Kegerreis kill and Daniel Ford ace to pull within four at 19-15. A Stephen Braswell ace and a Fisher kill kept the margin at four at 22-18, but two Mende kills helped clinch the set for PSU.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 11-7 lead in Set 2, but soon built the advantage to nine at 18-9. A pair of blocks and putaways by Mende, Nugent, Callaway, Gear and Albrecht led to the 11-7 score. After a Kegerreis kill made it 11-8, Penn State rattled off seven of the next eight points to extend the lead. Five SFU errors helped the PSU cause. A Nittany Lion hitting error and Fisher kill slowed PSU temporarily, but the team earned its first set point chance at 24-12 with a 5-1 run, including two Gear putaways and three Red Flash miscues. A Patrick Bryan kill and Adam Kniffen ace fought off two set point chances, before Albrecht ended the stanza for Penn State.
The teams were even at 7-all to start Set 3. The Nittany Lions went ahead 11-8 with two putaways and two Red Flash errors. Saint Francis pulled within one four times, last at 16-15, as Hogan downed two kills. Penn State earned its first chance at the set at 24-19 after an 8-4 run, including two Albrecht kills. A Nick Bennett putaway kept the match going, but Nugent pounded down his ninth kill of the night to capture the title.
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