No. 6 Cougars drop second match to Penn State, 3-0

UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn. – The BYU men’s volleyball team posted another 3-0 loss against Penn State on Saturday in the Penn State Rec Hall (21-25, 19-25, 24-26).

FINAL BOX SCORE

The Nittany Lions swept the Cougars on Thursday as well. Both results put the all-time series record at 13-8, favoring the Cougars. 

Penn State led offensively, racking up 34 kills and a .403 hitting percentage. BYU notched 32 kills and a .286 clip. Both teams had issues at the service line. The Cougars posted 21 service errors, followed by Penn State’s 18.

Senior opposite hitter Alex Ah Sue had a game-high 12 kills and a .588 clip. Penn State’s Brett Wildman followed with 10 kills. 

"There were more positives for this team than what may show on the stat sheet and for that there was a lot to learn from this trip," said head coach Shawn Olmstead. "Down the stretch, we had a few too many errors that Penn State capitalized on. Alex had a strong night for us offensively."

SET ONE
Penn State started the match with a slight lead of 7-5 after giving BYU five points from service errors alone. Gardini tied the match at 7-7 with his two consecutive kills, BYU’s first kills of the set. 

Six errors by the Cougars and three kills by Penn State allowed the Nittany Lions to maintain a lead at 15-11. Ah Sue tallied two kills to help close the gap, putting BYU behind by just one point at 20-19. Freshman outside hitter Luke Benson and Gardini slammed kills in the final moments of the set, but ultimately, Penn State took the set win with an ace at 25-21.

SET TWO
The teams traded points, tying four times by 4-4. The rally included a kill by Ah Sue. The Nittany Lions took the lead off a BYU service error at 5-4. 

Penn State’s Cal Fisher managed two quick kills, but sophomore middle blocker Gavin Julien fought back with a kill of his own. A solo block by senior middle blocker Branden Oberender tied the set for the fifth time at 10-10. BYU continued with this momentum, taking back its lead after a Penn State attack error.

Battling back, Fisher put up three straight aces, giving the Nittany Lions a 14-11 lead. From here, the teams traded kills, including three by Ah Sue. Ultimately, final kills by Fisher and Brett Wildman sealed another set win for Penn State at 25-19.

SET THREE
BYU quickly tallied a 2-0 lead, thanks to Ah Sue’s eighth kill of the night. Penn State managed a kill before Gardini slammed his seventh. Two errors by the Cougars allowed the Nittany Lions to tie the match at 3-3. Kills by Ah Sue, Oberender and Benson gave BYU an edge, until a service error tied the match for the fourth time at 6-6.

The Cougars continued to tally points, however, issues on the service line allowed Penn State to stay close behind. Two block assists by Julien and Benson gave BYU its biggest lead of the night at 15-11. 

The Nittany Lions took the lead at 19-18 after four kills and four BYU errors. Benson and Ah Sue continued to put up a fight, both adding kills. This lit a fire under Gardini, who served two aces, giving BYU a one-point lead at 22-21.

Five fatal errors by BYU secured Penn State’s sweep, with the Nittany Lions winning the set at 26-24.

Up next, BYU will host UC Irvine for its first home match of the season in the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. MDT.