Conference News

Penn State Pounds Loyola-Chicago, 3-0

Anderson led all players with 19 kills on .533 hitting

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Feb. 8, 2008 - Junior outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) recorded 19 kills on .533 hitting as the second-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team pounded No. 12 Loyola-Chicago in three games (30-26, 30-19, 30-22) Friday night in the South Gym of Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions improve to 11-0 for the season while the Ramblers fall to 5-4 on the year. Penn State remains at home, hosting No. 10 IPFW Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Rec Hall in the main gym. Gametracker and free live video will be available at www.GoPSUsports.com.

In addition to Anderson's 19 kills, junior opposite Ryan Sweitzer (Lancaster, Pa.) notched eight kills, junior middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted seven kills and sophomore middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) also tallied seven kills on .600 hitting. Penn State attacked at a .389 clip for the match while holding Loyola-Chicago to hitting .114.

Senior setter Luke Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.) directed the Nittany Lion offense with 35 assists and added in six digs while freshman libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) topped the defense with seven digs.

Penn State was strong from behind the service line, racking up nine aces. Sweitzer led all players with a career-high four aces while Anderson and Holt added in two apiece and Lipsitz recorded one.

The Nittany Lions outblocked the Ramblers, 8.0 to 5.0. Holt led the squad with five stuffs, including two solo efforts, as Anderson chipped in four and Lipsitz provided two.

Kris Berzins and Ian Anderson provided 12 and 10 kills, respectively, for Loyola-Chicago. Mike Hutz dished out 27 assists and Anderson topped the squad with five digs. Michael Morice led the team with three blocks.

An Ian Anderson service ace and a Penn State attack error put Loyola-Chicago up 14-12 to start the match. Penn State's Anderson responded with a kill of his own, and coupled with a Rambler attack error and a Sweitzer ace, the Nittany Lions claimed the 15-14 lead. A Loyola-Chicago kill evened the score and the teams traded points before a Holt kill sparked a 4-0 Penn State run to put it up 20-16. A Lipsitz and Anderson block made it 23-19 and a Holt and Anderson block coupled with consecutive Sweitzer aces pushed the lead to 27-20. Kills from Holt and Sweitzer gave Penn State the 29-24 advantage before an Anderson kill made it 30-26 in favor of the Lions.

Loyola-Chicago jumped out to the early 8-4 lead in the second game before Penn State chipped away at the hole, evening the score at 11-11 aided by kills from Anderson and Sweitzer and three Rambler errors. The squads exchanged points twice and a solo Holt block pushed the Lions ahead 16-13. The teams traded kills several times and an Anderson kill gave Penn State the 20-16 lead. Out of a Loyola-Chicago timeout, the teams exchanged put-aways before a Lipsitz and Sweitzer block along with a Lipsitz kill pushed the Lions up 24-17. Another Lipsitz kill followed by three monster blocks, one from Holt and Anderson, and individual solo efforts from Holt and Anderson, extended the Lion lead to 28-18 before Sweitzer and Anderson kills gave Penn State the game, 30-19.

The Nittany Lions came out on top early in the third game, taking the 9-5 lead aided by a Rambler attack error. Out of a Loyola-Chicago timeout, Penn State claimed five of the next seven points to gain the 14-7 advantage. The teams traded points three times and Loyola-Chicago errors and a Holt ace helped Penn State go up 20-12. A Lion kill from Anderson extended the score to 22-14 and two Holt kills made it 26-18 before an Anderson kill ended the game, 30-22.