STATE COLLEGE, PA – The Manhattan Jaspers' Men's Volleyball program (0-1, 0-0 NEC) fell in its inaugural match against the No. 13 Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) in straight sets (21-25, 16-25, 20-25) inside the Recreation Hall South Gym on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- On top by a couple of points were the Nittany Lions, before an attack error by Penn State gave the Jaspers the program's first ever point.
- Two points ahead, it was Kasen Owens who posted the first ever attempt and kill off a perfect Drew Blonski setup.
- Back and forth went the Jaspers and Nittany Lions, before Wojtek Nowak tied the game at nine with the program's first service ace. Then, two points later, it was Nowak again, who was fed a perfect pass to give Manhattan its second tie in just three points.
- The Jaspers would keep the game within two until Nowak continued his all-around game by tacking on a block solo to his resume to narrow Penn State's lead 15-14.
- Down the stretch, Owens and Nowak added another two points before the Nittany Lions took the first set.
- Looking to bounce back in the second set, Blonski set up Kasen Owens for a go-ahead kill, before Max Larcheid added his first point of the afternoon to go ahead of the home team.
- Trailing by three midway, the Jaspers, once again, took advantage of a Penn State setback, before the Nittany Lions pulled away down the stretch.
- Opening the third set trailing by two, Chase Marston joined the inaugural party with a kill, before Manhattan tacked on another two for the program's first scoring run. The Jaspers would tack on the next three of four points, before Marston tied the match at 12 with back-to-back service aces.
STATS AND NOTES
- Junior outside hitter Wojtek Nowak led the Green and White with nine kills on the afternoon while attempting a total of 13, and a hitting percentage of .538. Nowak posted the program's first service ace and logged one block solo for a total of 11 points on the day.
- Sophomore outside hitter Kasen Owens posted six kills on 19 attempts, while blocking three and totaled 7.5 points on the afternoon.
- Freshman opposite hitter Blake Perkins registered three kills in 10 attempts, added two digs, and one block.
- Freshman opposite hitter Chase Marston logged three kills in five total attempts and added two aces and a pair of blocks.
- As a team, the Jaspers posted 25 kills on 64 total attacks, while logging three service aces, and 14 team digs, while blocking seven.
NEXT UP:
The Jaspers are back in action on Friday, January 16, and Saturday, January 17 when the Green and White trek to Boston to face the Harvard Crimson beginning at 7 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. The contests can be viewed on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.
Follow Manhattan Men's Volleyball on X and Instagram (@ManhattanMVBall).
