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NEWARK, NJ–Visiting Penn State, ranked No. 3 in the latest AVCA Division I-II Coaches Poll, swept NJIT, 3-0, Friday evening in men's volleyball EIVA Conference action inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.

The Nittany Lions, winners of six consecutive matches, improved to 12-1 on the season and 3-0 in the EIVA Conference while the Highlanders moved to 5-8 overall and 1-1 in the EIVA.

Penn State, which won in tight sets 25-20, 28-26 and 25-23, were led by Michal Kowal and Cal Fisher who posted a match-best 11 kills followed by reigning EIVA Defensive Player of the Week Toby Ezeonu with eight.  Ezeonu combined for a .538 hitting percentage while Fisher recorded a .429 hitting percentage.

Setter Cole Bogner piled up a match-best 33 kills while Brett Wildman and Fisher each registered four digs.  Owen Rose led the way in front of the net with three block assists.  Fisher paced the match with four service aces as the Nittany Lions held a huge advantage, 11-1.

For the Highlanders, Williams recorded a .778 hitting percentage on nine attempts with just one error while freshman Andrew Fedmasu, making his first collegiate start of his career for an injured Martin de Chavarria, put together a strong performance with eight kills and a .429 hitting percentage.

Graduate student Roque Nido recorded 29 assists and four digs for the Highlanders while Julian Meissner and Alessandro Negri each added four digs.

NJIT scored the first three points of the first frame but Penn State rallied to take a 6-4 lead.  The Nittany Lions increased its lead to 15-12 resulting in an NJIT timeout.  The Highlanders got as close as one, 16-15, after a kill by Andrew Fedmasu but Penn State took a five-point lead 22-17, resulting in NJIT's second timeout of the match.  Penn State finished off the state on a quick 2-1 run to earn the 25-20 victory.

Penn State came out on fire in the second set to take a 7-2 lead.  NJIT surged back to cut the Nittany Lions lead to one, 14-13 and then again in the late teens, 19-18, behind three consecutive points by the Highlanders, resulting in a Penn State timeout.  The Nittany responded by taking a 23-19 advantage but NJIT used a 6-1 spurt to tie the set at 24-all after three consecutive Highlander kills, capped by Carson Williams.  The set saw two more times and the Nittany Lions closed out the set with back-to-back points for a 28-26 win.

The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the third frame.  NJIT inched their way back into the set, cutting the visitors lead to one, 14-13, on a kill by Alessandro Negri.  Penn State took a four-point lead, 18-14, but the Highlanders went on a 4-1 run capped by an ace from Alessandro Negri for a 18-17 score.  The Nittany Lions went ahead by three, 23-20, but the Highlanders down but not out scored two in a row for a 24-23 score. Penn State's Fisher recorded the final point on a kill for a 25-23 victory to earn the 3-0 sweep.

The two teams will return to action on Saturday at 7pm on ESPN3.