LORETTO, Pa. – The 14th-ranked Saint Francis men's volleyball team couldn't overcome unforced errors against defending national champion Penn State as the top-ranked Nittany Lions handed the Red Flash a 3-0 defeat in their Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) opener in front of a raucous crowd of 1,624 on Friday night at DeGol Arena.
Will Price led undefeated PSU with 15 kills in its 30-19, 30-26, 30-21 win over SFU, which dropped its second straight match to fall to 3-2 on the year.
Junior Jordan Varee (Conneautville, PA/Conneaut Valley) (Conneautville, Pa. / Conneaut Valley) paced the Red Flash with 13 kills, three blocks and two digs, and senior setter Shane Conley (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny) dished out 29 assists.
SFU will return to action against another No. 1 opponent at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The Red Flash will play host to Division III's top ranked Springfield at DeGol Arena. The game time has been changed from 4 p.m. to 2 p.m. in order to allow Pittsburgh Steelers fans to enjoy Super Bowl celebrations.
Penn State hit .402 for the match, and held SFU to a .205 hitting percentage, which is above PSU's season average. However, the Red Flash committed 17 service errors and gave up six service aces. Saint Francis also out-blocked the Nittany Lions 9.0 to 5.0.
The Nittany Lions came out with four straight points to start the first set, and never looked back. Saint Francis stayed close, and pulled within 10-7 on a PSU attack error, but couldn't get in a rhythm and lost four straight points to fall behind by seven, 14-7, in calling a timeout. Trailing 18-10, the Red Flash reeled off three straight points to pull within five, but Penn State turned up the heat and took the first set, 30-19. The Nittany Lions hit .500 and held SFU to .038 hitting in opener. Lipsitz hit 1.000 with six kills
Rivett and Freyer started the second set with a block assist to give the Red Flash their first lead of the match. However, nine service errors cost Saint Francis in a close set in which the Red Flash out-hit the Nittany Lions .300 to .281. Varee had seven kills and hit .545 to keep SFU in it until the end. Penn State served up an error to let the Flash pull within 28-25, and Rivett followed with a tip for a kill over two blockers to make it a two-point contest. However, Price clinched the 30-26 win with back-to-back kills.
The third set was a back-and-forth battle through the first 30 servies with neither team leading by more than two points until another Red Flash service error followed by a Penn State ace gave the Nittany Lions a 17-14 edge. It was the beginning of an 8-2 run for Penn State to open an insurmountable lead on Saint Francis. The Red Flash never got any closer than six points the rest of the way as PSU clinched the match with a 30-21 win on a kill by Holt.
Junior Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel) added nine kills, four digs and three blocks for Saint Francis, and junior Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) (Orchard Park, N.Y. / Orchard Park) hit .400 with six kills and four blocks.
