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Despite Career Effort By Kendall Ratter, #11 PSU Holds Off Tiger Volleyball
April 02, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
BOX SCORE
Sophomore Kendall Ratter played the match of his career, and it nearly ignited the Princeton men's volleyball team to the biggest win of its season. Ratter, whose career high in kills prior to Friday was 13, recorded a match-high 23 kills, but they would not be enough to pull off an upset over No. 11 Penn State.
The Nittany Lions seemed in cruise control early, claiming a 25-13 win in the opener, but Ratter began to turn on the jets in the second. One kill after another kept Princeton ahead, and then the Tigers pulled away late for the 25-21 win.
He continued to pour on the offense in the final two sets, but Penn State hit .519 (17-3-27) and .550 (12-1-20) to keep the Tigers at a distance. Ultimately, the Nittany Lions stayed atop the EIVA with wins of 25-17 and 25-19 to move to 8-1 in EIVA play. The Tigers, who will host Saint Francis Saturday at 4 pm, fell to 3-7. They will honor their seniors prior to Saturday's match, the final home one of the season.
One of those seniors, Devin Stearns, had 10 kills on the night, while rightside sophomore Mike Fuerst continues his strong second half with nine kills. Freshman libero Corry Short had seven digs, while Ratter had six, and junior Jonah May recorded 31 assists.
Sophomore Billy Andrew had three kills from the middle, while Alex Schindele-Murayama had a team-high three blocks.