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WARRIORS VOLLEYBALL

Penn State puts down Warriors

STORY SUMMARY | READ THE FULL STORY

It took Penn State 14 visits to the Stan Sheriff Center before winning its first Outrigger Hotels Invitational title.

It took the Nittany Lions just one more to double up on the championship hardware.

Freshman Joe Sunder led four Penn State hitters in double-figure kills with 17 and the defending national champions turned back No. 13 Hawaii 30-22, 21-30, 30-22, 30-23 last night.

Joshua Walker led Hawaii (1-2) with 18 kills, while Steven Hunt added 14

In yesterday's first match, USC (2-1) kept Ohio State (0-3) winless with a 30-18, 30-28, 25-30, 31-29 victory. Trojans sophomore hitter Murphy Troy capped his Most Outstanding Player performance with 26 kills and three aces.

Joining Troy on the all-tournament team were Penn State's Edgardo Goas, Max Holt, Max Lipsitz and Dennis Del Valle; Ohio State's Robbie Klein and Walker from Hawaii.

The Warriors open Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play Thursday, hosting No. 3 Pepperdine.

— Cindy Luis



FULL STORY >>

By Cindy Luis

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 11, 2009

(Single Page View) | Return to Paginated View

Penn State opened up its NCAA men's volleyball title defense by successfully defending its Outrigger Hotels Invitational title last night.

PENN STATE   

3

HAWAII

1
NEXT UP
vs. Pepperdine, Thursday

It was anything but easy.

The top-ranked Nittany Lions needed four players in double-figure kills and 2 hours and 13 minutes to turn back No. 13 Hawaii 30-22, 21-30, 30-22, 30-23. A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 1,681 (2,765 tickets) saw the Warriors (1-2) finish third for the second straight year.

No. 7 USC, led by tournament MOP Murphy Troy, finished second when downing Ohio State 30-18, 30-28, 25-30, 31-29.

"We let them go on two runs at the end and that was difference," Hawaii sophomore hitter Joshua Walker said after finishing with a match-high 18 kills. "But we were right there with the No. 1 team and I think this gives us a lot of confidence going into the matches with Pepperdine (Thursday and Friday).

"Last year, we were competitive. This year, we want to win."

Victory against Penn State eluded Hawaii, as well as USC and Ohio State. The Nittany Lions were very successful for three straight nights, using a balanced attack; last night freshman Joe Sunder put down 17 kills in his first start, with Ryan Sweitzer adding 14, Max Lipsitz 12 and Max Holt 11.

"The key was the way our young guys were able to respond after Game 2," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. "Hawaii has a lot of young, athletic players and I hope the fans give them some time because they're going to be exciting to watch.

"We knew they'd fight hard, they always do. It's why we come every year, for this kind of competition."

Service errors didn't hurt Penn State in Set 1 last night. The Nittany Lions won by eight points despite eight service errors.

Penn State's problems from the service line (seven errors) just added to the woes in Set 2. More bothersome was Hawaii's block, which came up huge against the taller Lions.

The Warriors had four stuffs, including that of 6-foot-3 UH setter Sean Carney's solo block on Penn State's 6-7 hitter Joe Sunder that gave the Warriors a 28-19 lead.

The Nittany Lions played steadier coming out of the break, pulling away late in Sets 3 and 4. In Set 4, Hawaii had closed to 21-20 only to see the chance at forcing a fifth set slip away.

Sweitzer served two aces in a row and Holt added another in a 6-1 run that gave Penn State a commanding 27-21 lead.

USC 3, Ohio State 1

The Trojans (2-1) started off hot then stayed warm enough to outlast the Buckeyes (0-3).

Troy and Sean Dennis led USC with 14 kills each. Tony Ciarelli had five of the team's eight aces.

Note

Hawaii junior middle Matt Rawson was in street clothes last night and could be done for the season. He dislocated his left shoulder early during Thursday's match against Ohio State and played very briefly against USC on Friday. His options are still being discussed.

Penn State def. Hawaii

30-22, 21-30, 30-22, 30-23

Nittany Lions (3-0)

s k e att pct d bs ba pts
Goas 4 4 2 6 .333 4 0 4 7.0
Lipsitz 4 12 3 19 .474 1 0 6 16.0
Price 4 8 5 20 150 10 0 3 9.5
Holt 4 11 0 12 .917 2 0 2 13.0
Sweitzer 4 14 9 31 161 0 0 2 17.0
Sunder 4 17 2 29 .517 5 0 1 18.5
Del Valle 4 0 0 0 .000 10 0 0 0.0
Totals 4 66 21 117 .385 32 0 18 81.0

 
Warriors (1-2)

s k e att pct d bs ba pts
Grgas 4 3 3 13 .000 0 0 7 6.5
Hunt 4 14 9 29 .172 3 1 2 16.0
Carney 4 3 0 4 .750 6 1 3 6.5
Walker 4 18 9 46 .196 4 0 4 20
Tuaniga 4 5 3 15 .133 8 2 1 8.5
Lofy 4 3 0 6 .500 0 0 1 3.5
Cervantes 4 0 0 0 .000 6 0 0 0.0
China 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0
Dyer 1 0 0 1 .000 1 0 0 0.0
Totals 4 46 24 114 .193 28 4 18 61.0

Key -- s: sets played; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills + blocks + aces)
Aces -- Penn State (6): Sweitzer 2, Holt, Lipsitz, Goas, Sunder. Hawaii (2): Carney, Tuaniga. Assists -- Penn State (60): Goas 57, Price, Sunder, Del Valle. Hawaii (41): Carney 36, Cervantes 4, Lofy.
T -- 2:13. Officials -- Dickson Chun, Ernie Ho. A -- 1,681.

Penn State opened up its NCAA men's volleyball title defense by successfully defending its Outrigger Hotels Invitational title last night.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii’s Steven Hunt challenged the triple block of Penn State in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational last night.

PENN STATE   

3

HAWAII

1
NEXT UP
vs. Pepperdine, Thursday
It was anything but easy.

The top-ranked Nittany Lions needed four players in double-figure kills and 2 hours and 13 minutes to turn back No. 13 Hawaii 30-22, 21-30, 30-22, 30-23. A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 1,681 (2,765 tickets) saw the Warriors (1-2) finish third for the second straight year.

No. 7 USC, led by tournament MOP Murphy Troy, finished second when downing Ohio State 30-18, 30-28, 25-30, 31-29.

"We let them go on two runs at the end and that was difference," Hawaii sophomore hitter Joshua Walker said after finishing with a match-high 18 kills. "But we were right there with the No. 1 team and I think this gives us a lot of confidence going into the matches with Pepperdine (Thursday and Friday).

"Last year, we were competitive. This year, we want to win."

Victory against Penn State eluded Hawaii, as well as USC and Ohio State. The Nittany Lions were very successful for three straight nights, using a balanced attack; last night freshman Joe Sunder put down 17 kills in his first start, with Ryan Sweitzer adding 14, Max Lipsitz 12 and Max Holt 11.

"The key was the way our young guys were able to respond after Game 2," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. "Hawaii has a lot of young, athletic players and I hope the fans give them some time because they're going to be exciting to watch.

"We knew they'd fight hard, they always do. It's why we come every year, for this kind of competition."

Service errors didn't hurt Penn State in Set 1 last night. The Nittany Lions won by eight points despite eight service errors.

Penn State's problems from the service line (seven errors) just added to the woes in Set 2. More bothersome was Hawaii's block, which came up huge against the taller Lions.

The Warriors had four stuffs, including that of 6-foot-3 UH setter Sean Carney's solo block on Penn State's 6-7 hitter Joe Sunder that gave the Warriors a 28-19 lead.

The Nittany Lions played steadier coming out of the break, pulling away late in Sets 3 and 4. In Set 4, Hawaii had closed to 21-20 only to see the chance at forcing a fifth set slip away.

Sweitzer served two aces in a row and Holt added another in a 6-1 run that gave Penn State a commanding 27-21 lead.

USC 3, Ohio State 1

The Trojans (2-1) started off hot then stayed warm enough to outlast the Buckeyes (0-3).

Troy and Sean Dennis led USC with 14 kills each. Tony Ciarelli had five of the team's eight aces.

Note

Hawaii junior middle Matt Rawson was in street clothes last night and could be done for the season. He dislocated his left shoulder early during Thursday's match against Ohio State and played very briefly against USC on Friday. His options are still being discussed.

Penn State def. Hawaii

30-22, 21-30, 30-22, 30-23

Nittany Lions (3-0)

s k e att pct d bs ba pts
Goas 4 4 2 6 .333 4 0 4 7.0
Lipsitz 4 12 3 19 .474 1 0 6 16.0
Price 4 8 5 20 150 10 0 3 9.5
Holt 4 11 0 12 .917 2 0 2 13.0
Sweitzer 4 14 9 31 161 0 0 2 17.0
Sunder 4 17 2 29 .517 5 0 1 18.5
Del Valle 4 0 0 0 .000 10 0 0 0.0
Totals 4 66 21 117 .385 32 0 18 81.0

 
Warriors (1-2)

s k e att pct d bs ba pts
Grgas 4 3 3 13 .000 0 0 7 6.5
Hunt 4 14 9 29 .172 3 1 2 16.0
Carney 4 3 0 4 .750 6 1 3 6.5
Walker 4 18 9 46 .196 4 0 4 20
Tuaniga 4 5 3 15 .133 8 2 1 8.5
Lofy 4 3 0 6 .500 0 0 1 3.5
Cervantes 4 0 0 0 .000 6 0 0 0.0
China 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0
Dyer 1 0 0 1 .000 1 0 0 0.0
Totals 4 46 24 114 .193 28 4 18 61.0

Key -- s: sets played; k: kills; e: hitting errors; att: attempts; pct: hitting percentage; d: digs; bs: block solo; ba: block assists; pts: points (kills + blocks + aces)
Aces -- Penn State (6): Sweitzer 2, Holt, Lipsitz, Goas, Sunder. Hawaii (2): Carney, Tuaniga. Assists -- Penn State (60): Goas 57, Price, Sunder, Del Valle. Hawaii (41): Carney 36, Cervantes 4, Lofy.
T -- 2:13. Officials -- Dickson Chun, Ernie Ho. A -- 1,681.

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