Match Stats
- Sacred Heart 3, No. 12 Penn State 0 (25-22, 25-19, 28-26)
- Sacred Heart moves to 13-9, 6-5 EIVA; Penn State falls to 16-10, 8-3 EIVA
- Fairfield, Connecticut
- Attendance: 422
- Box Score
Sacred Heart ended a six-match losing streak in fine fashion, knocking off No. 12 Penn State via sweep Friday night. The Pioneers won the match 25-22, 25-19, 28-26 behind a strong hitting performance and stout blocking effort.
SHU hit at a .405 clip held the Nittany Lions to a .188 effort, while outblocking PSU 12-4.
Senior right side hitter Christopher DeLucie posted a match-high 15 kills, while hitting at a .542 clip and putting up five blocks. Redshirt sophomore right side Emerson Waumans added 12 kills. Senior middle blocker Doug Dzema managed a team-leading seven stuffs, while junior libero Joshua Ayzenburg pulled up a team-best six digs.
Penn State got 11 kills out of redshirt junior outside hitter Aiden Albrecht, who hit at a .474 clip. Senior outside Chris Nugent added eight kills and team-leading four digs and two blocks, but hit .000 for the night. Redshirt junior opposite Jalen Penrose chipped in five kills.
Sacred Heart built an early five point advantage at 12-7 in Set 1, thanks to four PSU miscues and two blocks. Back to back blocks pulled the Nittany Lions within three at 17-14. Down 22-17, Penn State mounted a comeback, rallying to within one at 22-21 with two Albrecht kills and a Calvin Mende ace. Sacred Heart scored three of the next four points to end it, capping the set with a triple block.
The teams split the first 10 points of Set 2. A pair of Wauman kills put SHU up 8-5. PSU narrowed the gap to one three times, last at 12-11. Back to back blocks by Dzema kicked off a 7-1 Pioneer run, which pushed the score at 19-12. The Nittany Lions would get no closer than four the rest of the way as DeLucie downed three more kills. SHU hit .433 in the stanza, while holding PSU to a .111 effort.
The Pioneers finished the upset with their best hitting performance yet, hitting at a .520 clip with just three team errors. Penn State jumped ahead 5-3 in Set 3, but the score was soon tied at 7-all. Trailing 9-8, Sacred Heart rallied to a 12-9 advantage with help from two PSU miscues. The Nittany Lions tied the score at 15 and 16, but a pair of DeLucie kills gave SHU a 19-16 lead. Sacred Heart went up 24-22, but a service error and a Penrose ace extended the match. Penn State answered two more Pioneer match point chances, before a kill by Taylor Bloomquist and a block by Bloomquist and Waumans wrapped up the sweep.
Watch the match here.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Sacred Heart Athletics
The Sacred Heart Men’s Volleyball team took on the #12 Penn State Nittany Lions at the Williams H. Pitt Center and went on to sweep them 3-0. Doug Dzema led the charge as he put up an incredible seven blocks. The Pioneers continue the push to the postseason, as they take on the Red Flash of Saint Francis U, tomorrow night at 7pm for senior night.
Noteworthy-
- Dzema ended the night hitting .800, and was a wall at the net, adding seven total blocks.
- Christopher DeLucie tallied the most kills for SHU as he hit .542, adding 15 kills.
- Eduardo Zardo was dishing out assists on the night, as he ends with 34 assists
SET 1-
- The Pioneers got off to a hot start as they jumped to an early 5-2 lead following a couple of Nittany Lions attack errors
- A Doug Dzema block, followed by a Michael Comens ace would keep SHU ahead 8-5 early
- The Pioneers were feeling in on their home court as they forced the Nittany Lions to take a timeout, as the score stood 10-6 in favor of SHU
- A big Emerson Waumans kill would keep Sacred Heart ahead 14-9 mid way thru the opening set
- The Pioneers would continue to battle as they would force a second Nittany Lions timeout, as the score stood 19-14 in favor of SHU
- The Nittany Lions would claw back to move the score within two, but a huge block would give SHU the 25-22 opening set
SET 2-
- SHU opened up the second set with a kill from Christopher DeLucie,as each team would exchange points back and forth to move to tie the score up 5-5
- Waumans would break the streak adding a big kill to give SHU an 8-5 advantage
- Dzema would add back-to-back blocks to give SHU the 15-11 advantage and force the Nittany Lions to take a timeout
- The Pioneers weren’t slowing down as they rattled off three more points, taking a 18-12 lead
- The Pioneers would not let up as they rolled past Penn State 25-19
SET 3-
- The Nittany Lions started off the third set with a couple of points, but the Pioneers were back on track as they moved the score to 7-7 after a DeLucie block
- The Pioneers refused to slow down, as they moved the score to 12-9, and forced an early Penn State timeout
- Each team would battle back and fourth, as the score would stand 19-16, with a slight advantage for Sacred Heart. The Nittany Lions would take their last timeout, in hopes to bounce back
- In dramatic fashion, the Pioneers finish off the sweep, 28-26
Courtesy: Penn State Athletics
FAIRFIELD, CT — No. 12 Penn State (16-10, 8-3) fell to Sacred Heart 3-0 (22-25, 19-25, 26-28) Friday night at the Pitt Center.
Aidan Albrecht led Penn State with 11 kills hitting .474 for the match, committing only two errors on 19 swings for the outside hitter from Old Bridge, N.J. Luke Braswell led Penn State in assist with 28 while Calvin Mende and Royce Clemens tied for a team-high three digs apiece. Matt Callaway led the Lions in blocks with three helping Penn State record four team blocks against the Pioneers.
The loss drops Penn State to 16-10 overall and 8-3 in EIVA conference play.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action tomorrow night as they take on the Crimson of Harvard in Cambridge, MA with a first serve slated for 7 p.m. ET.
For more on Nittany Lion men’s volleyball, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateMVBall
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