Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA—Defending national champion Penn State, currently ranked third in the nation, blew past visiting NJIT, 3-0 (30-16, 30-17, 30-19) in Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association men's volleyball Saturday afternoon.

Penn State, the perennial EIVA champion, raised its overall record to 14-1 while going to 6-0 in the EIVA Tait Division. The loss drove the Highlanders deeper into the Tait cellar with an 0-6 divisional record. They are 3-8 overall.

The Nittany Lions had 44 kills, with just seven errors in 66 attempts for an overwhelming .561 attack percentage. Penn State also enjoyed an 8-2 advantage in service aces and a team blocking edge of 8.5-to-1.

NJIT's leading hitter was Charles Bell, with eight kills, followed by freshman Nick Jensen, who had seven kills and three errors in 15 attempts (.267 attack percentage). Rodrigo Correa had 19 assists for the Highlanders.

Amobi Armstrong picked up four digs to lead that category and Bell and Jensen combined for NJIT's only block.

Penn State, which used 15 different players, got nine kills from Ryan Sweitzer, who had just 10 attempts in two sets. Edgardo Goas had 34 assists.

Dennis Del Valle had eight digs for Penn State, while Max Lipsitz notched match-high totals of four service aces and five blocks.

NJIT, which is now focused on escaping last place in the Tait Division and avoiding relegation to the Hay Division, begins the second half of its 12-match divisional schedule by visiting Springfield on Friday at 7 pm. Springfield beat the Highlanders, 3-2, on February 10 in Newark.