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VIDEO: Highlights
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA–The NJIT men's volleyball team battled through three close sets at No. 3 Penn State Saturday evening, dropping a 3-0 decision inside Rec Hall on Senior Day Weekend for the Nittany Lions.
With the win, Penn State moves to 22-3 overall and a perfect 15-0 in the EIVA while the Highlanders drop its second consecutive match, moving to 13-10, 8-6 in the EIVA.
Penn State, which hit .346 for the match, won in straight sets – 25-23, 25-19 and 25-21, behind a match-best 12 kills from Cal Fisher and Toby Ezeonu. Cole Bogner paced the match with 32 assists while Ezeonu combined for six total blocks (one solo, five assists).
Fisher combined for four aces in the win as Penn State held a 7-2 advantage.
NJIT was paced by Alessandro Negri with a team-best 11 kills followed by Carson Williams (7). Williams finished with a 1.000 clip on seven swings and shared match-high honors with Ezeonu with six total blocks (two solo, four assists).
Negri led the Highlander defense with eight digs while Joe Kennedy registered six. Setter Roque Nido combined for 29 assists and four digs.
In the opening set, Penn State held a three-point advantage until the early 20's, when the Highlanders used a late 3-0 run, taking its first lead of the set, 21-20, after a double-block from Carson Williams and Jens Feldthus and capped by a Feldthus kill. Penn State led by two, 24-22, but NJIT's Alessandro Negri answered with a powerful kill but the Nittany Lions responded with a kill, recording a 25-23 victory in the opening set.
NJIT scored the opening two points of the second set and held a one-point advantage until an 11-10 lead by the visitors. The Nittany Lions broke away with a 5-0 scoring run, capped by a laser serve from Cal Fischer resulting in an NJIT timeout for a 14-11 advantage. The Nittany Lions took its largest lead of the set, 19-15, behind back-to-back points for the home team and went ahead by six, behind five straight points for a 24-18 advantage and went on to win 25-18 to go up 2-0.
The Highlanders jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third set. The Nittany Lions inched its way back into the set, cutting the Highlanders deficit two, 13-11, but NJIT went ahead 15-11. Penn State again rallied back, slimming the NJIT lead to one, 15-14, behind a 3-0 run by the home team. Penn State took its first lead of the set, after four consecutive points for a 23-20 lead. Penn State registered the 3-0 sweep recording the final point on block assists by the Nittany Lions for a 25-21 victory.
NJIT will close out its home portion of its schedule on Friday, April 15 at 6pm. In pregame ceremonies, NJIT will honor its six graduating seniors – Will Andrews, Zachary Hresko, Joe Kennedy, Roque Nido, Derek Evans and Jens Feldthus.
