UNIVERSITY PARK, NJ—The Highlanders were led by three players who reached double-digit kills Saturday paced by TJ Jurko's 22, but it wasn't enough to upset No. 8 Penn State, as the Nittany Lions held on to a 3-2 victory at Rec Hall.

The Nittany Lions improve to 12-9 on the season and remain undefeated in conference play while the Highlanders drop to 8-9 overall, 1-6 in EIVA play.

NJIT redshirt junior Jurko led the offense with a team-high 22 kills combining for a .340 hitting percentage on 47 swings.  Jurko added seven digs and four block assists.

Sophomore outside hitter Jabarry Goodridge logged 13 kills, followed closely by middle Ryan Thomas who finished with a .529 hitting percentage with 11 kills on 17 attempts with two errors.

Redshirt junior Luke Robbe led the blocking effort for NJIT with six blocks (all assists), while Thomas and Chris Kaepernick recorded five blocks.

Senior setter Zak Robben piled up a team-high 53 assists and added eight digs.  Libero Oren Zyndorf notched a match-high 16 digs for the Highlanders.

Penn State was paced by Aaron Russell's, who recorded a double-double with a match-high 26 kills and 15 digs.  Following closely behind was teammate Jalen Penrose with 21 and Chris Nugent with 10. 

Setter Taylor Hammond recorded a match-best 59 assists while redshirt sophomore Matt Callaway led the blocking effort with a match-high seven blocks.

With the score locked at 17-17 in the first set, Penn State sparked a 4-2 run that lifted the Nittany Lions ahead by two, 21-19, prompting NJIT to call a timeout. The two teams exchanged service errors out of the break, 22-20, before a Highlander kill brought NJIT within one, 22-21.  After a point by Penn State, the Nittany Lions went ahead 23-21, but two kills and a block from NJIT made it set point for the Highlanders, 24-23.

The frame saw three more ties, the final at 27, on a kill by Jurko, the Highlanders scored the final two points of the set on a Penn State attack error and block assist by Goodridge and Thomas, for a 29-27 advantage.
Penn State took the second set, 25-15, behind a .357 hitting percentage combining for 14 kills, four errors and 28 attempts.

In the third set, the frame was played tight with neither team leading by more than three.  The two teams traded points in the mid-teens and saw its last deadlock at 20.  The Highlanders scored the next three points for a 23-20 advantage, resulting in a Nittany Lion timeout.

Penn State scored the next point out of the timeout, but the Highlanders answered with a kill by Jurko, for a 24-21 lead.  Penn State scored the next two points pulling within one, 23-24, but a block assist by Thomas
and Kaepernick gave the Highlanders a 25-23 win.

The Nittany Lions cruised to a 25-16 win in the fourth set forcing a fifth and deciding set.

In the fifth and deciding set, Penn State jumped out to a 3-0 lead but the visitors battled back on a 5-3 spurt to pull within one, 6-5, of the home team.  Penn State scored the next two points to build a three-point advantage, 8-5.  The Highlanders answered with another 3-1 spurt to get back within one, 9-8.

The teams went back-and-forth with the Nittany Lions arriving at match point, 14-12, after a kill by Russell.  NJIT made one final attempt to mount a comeback with a block, 14-13, but Russell finished off a 15-13 win in
the fifth set with a kill to wrap up a 3-2 win.

Saturday's close defeat vs. perennial EIVA champion Penn State marked one of NJIT's best performances against the formidable Nittany Lions in the last two decades. The EIVA has undergone frequent structural changes over the years, leading to different scheduling, but the Highlanders and Nittany Lions currently play twice a season in men's volleyball.

NJIT's last match win in the head-to-head series was in 1998, 3-1, 17 years ago, The last time the Highlanders even took a set in the series was on March 23, 2012 in a 3-1 defeat. That lone set win in 2012 broke a futility streak of no set wins for the Highlanders since 2000, when the lost 3-1 to the Nittany Lions in the regular season and 3-1 again in the EIVA playoff semifinals.

NJIT will return to action on April 3 when the Highlanders visit Sacred Heart at 7pm.