NEWARK, N.J. – Will Kuhns, Gaige Gabriel, and Matt Cosgrove all set career highs in kills to lead No. 19 Penn State Men’s Volleyball to a 3-1 (26-24, 17-25, 25-21, 28-26) win over NJIT in an EIVA match Saturday night at the Wellness and Events Center.
The Nittany Lions moved to 4-8 overall and evened their EIVA record at 2-2. The Highlanders are 7-4 and also stand at 2-2 in the conference.
Kuhns hit .357 on his way to eclipsing 20 kills for the first time in his career. It was the fourth time this season he set a new career-best mark in kills. His previous high was 16 in a 3-0 win at Harvard on. Feb. 8.
Gabriel’s 11 kills came on .474 hitting. It was hist first time reaching double-digits. Cosgrove’s new high mark for kills came on the same night that he tallied a career-high six blocks. Miller Trubey chipped in with seven kills.
Penn State put up a strong block in the win, racking up 12 to double its total from the previous night against the Highlanders. Owen Rose, the EIVA leader in blocks/set, was in on eight of those blocks. If the ball did get through, Ryan Merk was there to clean up with his 11 digs. Michael Schwob finished with eight digs in addition to his 42 assists.
NJIT had a trio of players reach double-digits in kills. Andrew Fedmasu was the most efficient with 10 on .533 hitting. Wiktor Nowak and Antonio Feliciano tallied 16 and 10, respectively.
Penn State improved to 55-3 in the all-time series with NJIT.
Set 1
Kuhns hit .417 with six kills and Gabriel totaled four kills on .571 hitting as Penn State outlasted NJIT for a 26-24 win in the first set. It was NJIT with the fast start as it took a 12-7 lead with a kill by Nowak, but it was Penn State that had the stamina to get the job done down the stretch. The Nittany Lions battled back to tie it at 20-20 following a service error and a triple block by Cosgrove, Schwob, and Rose. They later took their first lead since 1-0 after a Rose kill and an NJIT attack error put them up 23-22. Gaige Gabriel gave the Nittany Lions their first chance at set point, but it was not to be as Feliciano knotted the score with a kill. A service error gave the Nittany Lions a second chance. This time Trubey came through with a kill.
Set 2
NJIT responded with a 25-17 win in the second set. Fedmasu had three kills on three swings, while Nowak tallied four kills and one block. Penn State was held to .000 hitting in the set.
Set 3
Six players combined for 16 kills in Penn State’s 25-21 win in the third set. Cosgrove and Kuhns led the way with four kills apiece, while Gabriel was right behind them with three. The Nittany Lions led 21-20 before closing the set with four of the final five points. Rose was in on three of the four points. He had a kill, combined with Cosgrove on a block, and combined with Kuhns and Schwob on a block for set point.
Set 4
Kuhns hit .545 with seven kills to lead Penn State to a gritty 28-26 win in the final set. Cosgrove had four kills on six attacks, while Gabriel contributed three on five swings. Penn State was in good position with a 22-20 lead, but NJIT went on a 3-0 run to take a one-point advantage. The Nittany Lions next three kills tied up the score, starting with Trubey’s kill at 23-23. The next two came from Kuhns and Gabriel and stopped the Highlanders from scoring set point. The Nittany Lions had their first chance at set point stopped by a Negri kill that made the score 26-all. Kuhns followed with a kill before Rose and Cosgrove put an exclamation point on a conference win with a match-sealing block.
Career Highs
Matt Cosgrove – kills (9), assists (2), blocks (6)
Gaige Gabriel – kills (11)
Will Kuhns – kills (21)
Josh Rosenblum – blocks (1)
Up Next
Penn State is at Rec Hall for just the second time this season when it hosts Merrimack on Friday at 7 p.m. The Warriors are 4-3 following four straight wins over American International College, Sacred Heart, American International College again, and Wentworth Institute of Technology.