Men’s Volleyball Delivers Valiant Effort Against No. 2 Penn State

Friday, March 18

Princeton, N.J.

7:00 PM

Princeton University

5-12,4-6EIVA

#2 Penn State

16-3,9-0EIVA

Penn St.

Princeton

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Men’s Volleyball Delivers Valiant Effort Against No. 2 Penn State

March 18, 2022 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Princeton University men's volleyball team gave No. 2 Penn State all it could handle Friday night inside Dillon Gymnasium, falling just short, 3-1 (25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23).

Sophomore Ben Harrington led the way for the Tigers, recording a team-high 17 kills. Senior Joe Kelly led the team in assists with 34, and digs with five. Sophomore Gavin Leising led Princeton in blocks, with five.

The opening set started with a Kelly service ace, then turned into a back-and-forth battle, with a kill by Kelly knotting the score at 8-8. A 5-0 Nittany Lion run created separation, making it 16-9, before Penn State used a 4-0 run to surge ahead, 20-10. The Tigers' showed resilience, as a double block by first year Nyherowo Omene and Harrington sparked a 3-0 run, but the Nittany Lions held on for the 25-16 first set victory.

While Penn State raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, back-to-back kills by Harrington and sophomore Gavin Liesing narrowed the margin, and made it 9-7. A triple-block by junior Nate Thompson, Leising, and Hartley led off a 3-0 Princeton run, that knotted the score 11-11. A Harrington kill gave Princeton a 15-14 lead, and the Tigers held the advantage until a Penn State kill tied it up, 18-18. A kill by Omene followed by a Nittany Lion attacking error saw the score knotted again, 22-22, but it was Penn State who would eventually pull away and win the set, 25-23.

A kill by Leising sparked a 3-0 run, giving the Tigers an early 3-2 lead in the third set. A kill by Hartley gave Princeton an 8-6 advantage, before Princeton used a 3-0 run keyed by a Leising kill to jump ahead, 13-10. A Harrington rocket gave the Tigers a 15-12 lead, but Penn State would again tie the score at 17-17. With Penn State ahead 20-10, a kill by Harrington sparked a 4-0 run that would propel Princeton to victory in the set, 25-23, following an emphatic kill by Thompson.

Princeton would take a 5-4 lead in the fourth set, following a Thompson kill, before a 5-0 Nittany Lion run gave Penn State a 9-5 lead. The Tigers would then tie it up at 11-11, after a Thompson block capped a 3-0 run, but the Nittany Lions would again take control, 18-14. Another Harrington kill narrowed the margin to one, 21-20, but

Up Next
The Tigers take on Saint Francis (Pa.) (12-6, 6-2) tomorrow night at 5 p.m. inside Dillon Gymnasium.