Fri May 16, 2008
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Top-Seeded Penn State Captures Second NCAA ChampionshipMay 3, 2008 IRVINE, Calif. - The Penn State men's volleyball team completed a dream season on Saturday, capturing the program's second NCAA Championship with a 3-1 (27-30, 33-31, 30-25, 30-23) victory over second-seeded Pepperdine at UC Irvine's Bren Events Center. The top-seeded Nittany Lions end the year 31-1 overall and follow the lead of the Penn State women's volleyball team which also captured the NCAA Championship this past December. Penn State becomes the first school since Stanford in 1996-97 to hold both the men's and women's volleyball titles at the same time. Penn State came out as the hot team in game one, going on an 11-3 run to take a quick 15-7 lead in the best of five game match. Max Lipsitz and Matt Anderson paced the Nittany Lions from the start, as each player had six kills in that first game. Down 12-17, Pepperdine went on a run of its own, winning eight of the next 10 points to eventually taking a 20-19 lead. The Waves would never trail in the game again, finishing it off on a block by J.D. Schleppenbach and Tyler Jaynes to take it 30-27 victory. Penn State actually came within a couple of swings from going down 0-2 in the match, as Pepperdine had a pair of game points up 29-28 and 30-31 in game two. Kills by Lipsitz thwarted both game points, however, as Anderson eventually gave Penn State the game with a kill of his own for a 33-31 win. Huge blocking by Penn State was the story in game three, as Lipsitz and Anderson combined for several key blocks down the stretch to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 game advantage. With Penn State leading 26-25, Anderson helped the Nittany Lions to a 28-25 lead following a thunderous kill and a huge block alongside teammates Lipsitz and Luke Murray. A back row attack by Pepperdine gave Penn State its first game point, and Lipsitz and Anderson took advantage of it on the very next play, blocking a Paul Carroll attempt to seal the game. Pepperdine's slow proved to be the difference in game four, as the Nittany Lions moved out to a quick 6-0 lead. Carroll stopped the bleeding for Pepperdine, as his crosscourt kill made it 6-1. The Waves, however, were never able to get back into the match, as they were down by at least five points for the remainder of the game. Meanwhile, Lipsitz and Anderson continued to pace the Nittany Lions with a number of kills to keep Penn State out in front. The Waves made a small 4-0 run to come within five points at 23-28, however by then it was too late, as the Nittany Lions would take the next two points and eventually the national championship when a Carroll attempt sailed just long. Carroll finished with a match-high 35 kills on the afternoon, while Anderson put in 29 of his own for the Nittany Lions. Penn State out-blocked Pepperdine, 19-10.5, mostly due to the play of Max Holt and Murray, who each finished with nine total blocks. Game Notes: Penn State has won two titles (2006 & 2008) in five all-time appearances in the NCAA Finals (1982, 1994, 1995, 2006, 2008) ... The Nittany Lions picked up their 30th victory of the season on Saturday, marking the sixth time in program history that they have reached the 30-win mark (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 2005, 2008) ... Saturday's win marks Penn State's first victory over Pepperdine since March 3, 1990 (Pepperdine leads the all-time series 15-4) ... The Nittany Lions end the season with a 12-match winning streak ... Penn State becomes the first school to win NCAA men's and women's volleyball titles in the same calendar year since Stanford in 1996-97. |
