Post by midwestfan on Mar 3, 2004 22:45:28 GMT -5
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3.3.2004
Penn State Men’s Volleyball Falls To Ohio State, 3-0
Proper and Wentzel record 11 kills apiece in the loss
Columbus, Ohio, March 3, 2004 – The 10th-ranked Penn State men’s volleyball team fell to Ohio State in three games (25-30, 23-30, 28-30) Wednesday night in Columbus, Ohio. The Nittany Lions fall to 10-5 while the Buckeyes improve to 10-6.
Sophomores Matt Proper (Guys Mills, Pa.) and Kevin Wentzel (Pittsburgh, Pa.) both recorded 11 kills to lead the Lions while sophomore Nate Meerstein (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added seven and junior Phil Small (Lansdale, Pa.) chipped in a career-high-tying six. Ohio State outhit the Nittany Lions, .295 to .168 for the match.
Junior Keith Kowal (Reading, Pa.) recorded one kill before going down with an ankle injury with Penn State up 11-9 in the first game. He did not return to the match.
Sophomore setter Dan O’Dell (Rochester, N.Y.) directed the offense with 37 assists and senior libero Ricky Mattei (San Juan, Puerto Rico) topped the defense with eight digs as O’Dell added five.
Penn State recorded 10.0 blocks to Ohio State’s 11.5, led by Meerstein and Small with five each. O’Dell and Proper chipped in four apiece while Wentzel added two.
Ohio State was led by Andy Cole with 15 kills and Mike Wauligman added 10. Mark Peckham directed the offense with 42 assists and three Buckeyes recorded seven digs. Peckham and Scott Spurlock both posted six blocks to lead the Buckeyes.
The first game remained even before an Ohio State net violation, a Proper kill and a Buckeye attack error put the Nittany Lions up, 12-9. Penn State remained in control until consecutive Ohio State kills and a Nittany Lion attack error put the Buckeyes up, 15-14. The teams traded points and an Ohio State attack error coupled with a block from Proper and Small made the score 17-16 in favor of Penn State. The Buckeyes regained control of the game on back to back kills before a Small kill tied the game at 18-18. A block from Small and O’Dell forced an Ohio State timeout at 20-18 but the Buckeyes scored four of the next six points out of the break to force a Penn State timeout at 22-22. Ohio State remained on fire, notching five of the next six points to grab the 27-23 advantage. The Buckeyes took the first game, 30-25, on a Penn State net violation. Wentzel led the Lions with seven kills while O’Dell and Small added three blocks each.
The second stanza began much as the first, with the teams trading points before a block from Proper and Small put Penn State up, 12-10. An Ohio State ace tied the score at 14-14 and three ties ensued before the Buckeyes grabbed the 23-18 advantage on four consecutive kills. A Wentzel put-away halted the run but the Buckeyes responded with back to back kills to go up, 25-19. Ohio State scored five of the next nine points to take the set, 30-23. Meerstein led the way with four kills for the Lions.
Ohio State jumped out to the 7-3 lead on two blocks and a kill and consecutive kills forced a Penn State timeout at 9-4. A Proper kill out of the break trimmed the Buckeye lead to four at 9-5. The Nittany Lions pulled to within two at 13-11 following consecutive blocks from Meerstein with Proper aiding on one. The teams traded points three times and three consecutive Ohio State points put the Buckeyes up, 20-15. The squads again exchanged points six times before back to back kills from Meerstein and Small pulled the Lions to within three at 25-22. After an Ohio State kill, consecutive Proper kills made the score 26-24 in favor of the Buckeyes but Nittany Lion service and attack errors put Ohio State up, 28-24, and forced a Penn State timeout. The Buckeyes committed a net violation out of the break, and coupled with a Wentzel ace and an Ohio State attack error, Penn State pulled to within one at 28-27. A Nittany Lion service error was followed by a Small kill to make the score 28-29. But an Ohio State kill ended the game, 30-28.
Penn State returns home on Friday, March 19 to take on Sacred Heart at 7:00 p.m. at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions then play host to Ball State on Saturday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m.