NEWARK, N.J. – No. 19 Penn State Men’s Volleyball struggled to slow down NJIT’s attack and strong night from the service line in a 3-0 (25-21, 29-27, 25-22) loss in an EIVA match Friday night at the Wellness and Events Center.
The Nittany Lions fell to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in the EIVA on the season. The Highlanders improved to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference. The teams were picked first and second, respectively, in the EIVA Preseason Poll.
Will Kuhns led Penn State with 12 kills on .348 hitting and had two of the team’s three aces. Gaige Gabriel continued to be a threat in the middle as he tallied six kills on .857 hitting in addition to his three blocks. Matthew Luoma and Owen Rose added six and four kills, respectively.
NJIT hit .380 for the match, which stands as the third-highest percentage allowed by Penn State this season. Antonio Feliciano hit .333 with 13 kills, while Wiktor Nowak joined him in double-digits with 10 kills.
The Highlanders finished with eight aces, including three by Alessandro Negri. Andrew Fedmasu was right behind him with two.
Set 1
Fedmasu was perfect on the attack with five kills on five swings to lead NJIT to a 25-21 win in the opening set. Luoma was solid for Penn State with four kills on six attacks, but the Nittany Lions tallied just six kills as a team. Passing was the weakness for the Nittany Lions as they allowed six aces, including two apiece from Negri and Fedmasu. Set point was scored on an ace by Nowak.
Set 2
Kuhns piled up eight kills in the second set, but it wasn’t enough as Penn State dropped a nailbiter, 29-27. The Nittany Lions came back from down 16-13 to take an 18-17 lead. The teams battled close from there. The Highlanders kept taking a one-point lead only to see Kuhns respond with score-tying kills at 22-all, 23-all, and 24-all. Penn State had one chance at set point while leading 25-24, but NJIT responded with a kill by Feliciano. With the score tied 27-27, the Highlanders finished off the set with a kill by Fedmasu and a block by Nowak.
Set 3
Feliciano added five more kills on six swings to lead NJIT to a come-from-behind 25-22 win in the third set. That was enough to counter Gabriel’s four kills on four attacks for Penn State. The Nittany Lions led by as much as six at 12-6 and were still up four as late as 20-16. The Highlanders scored nine of the final 11 points to get the win. They capped the match with a 5-0 run, including a kill by Feliciano for match point.
Career Highs
Josh Rosenblum – digs (2)
Up Next
Penn State and NJIT are back at the Wellness and Events Center on Saturday to wrap up the regular season series. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.