Box Score UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn. – For the second time in two meetings this season, the Sacred Heart men's volleyball team took a set from 11th ranked Penn State. After leading through much of a first set loss, the Pioneers battled back to even the match with a 25-23 triumph in the second set, only to drop the final two sets 18-25 on Saturday night at Rec Hall.
SHU (6-16, 4-8 EIVA) had its best hitting set of the match in the second, swinging .278, and also hit .222 or higher in the first and third set, but the Pioneers cooled down in the third, hitting .034 to finish the night at .198 percent. Penn State (18-8, 11-1) on the other hand swung .300 or better in all four sets to complete the match at .396 percent, securing its 11th consecutive EIVA crown.
Chris Nugent was the workhorse, totaling 21 kills on .645 hitting, 13 more than any other Nittany Lion. Lee Smith was next with eight and Aiden Albrecht chipped in with seven. Smith also had three solo blocks, more than all other players combined, and 12 digs. Taylor Hammon led all players with 49 assists.
Austin Arcala recorded Sacred Heart's first double double of the season with a team-high 15 kills and a match-high 13 digs, a new career-best for a match that did not go five sets. Also with a new career-high in a match that did not go five sets was Trent Thompson, who finished with a season-high ten kills.
SHU wraps up EIVA play with two home games next weekend, the first coming on Friday at 7 pm when the Pioneers welcome NJIT to the William H. Pitt Center.
How it Happened
- First Set (20-25) – Sacred Heart led by as many as 14-9 and were still holding on to a 17-13 advantage when Penn State tied the match with four answered points, the final two coming on Pioneer errors. SHU regrouped to go back on top on an Arcala kill but the Nittany Lions took their first lead, 19-18, with the next two points. Sacred Heart came back to tie it with the next point on a kill from Michael Comens, but PSU took six of the final seven points to complete the first set comeback.
- Second Set (25-23) – The second set was close throughout with seven ties and neither team taking a three-point lead until a Thompson kill brought the scoreboard to 18-15 in favor of Sacred Heart. Four separate times Penn State got as close one point, including at 24-23, but each time the Pioneers had the answer with final one coming from Arcala, who evened the match at one set apiece with one of his 15 kills.
- Third Set (18-25) – Sacred Heart evened the set one last time at seven with a third straight point coming on a Penn State error, but the Nittany Lions took the next three points and would lead by at least two throughout. After a Pioneer error completed a 5-1 run to make the score 12-8, SHU got as close as three points nine separate times, including s late as 22-19, but could never quite get over the hump to make it a two-point deficit.
- Fourth Set (18-25) – This set was decided much earlier, although Sacred Heart did take the first two points. Five of the next nine points came on Pioneer mistakes, as PSU went on an 8-1 flurry to seize control. SHU tried to get back into it with the next two points, but this time it was five unanswered for the Nittany Lions that put an end to the match. Three more Sacred Heart errors were part of the stretch, with Smith adding two kills and Matthew McLaren ending the 14-3 surge with a kill of his own to make the score 14-5.
