UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Rutgers-Newark freshman outside hitter
Mark Kochan and sophomore right side
Kenneth de Groh each had seven kills with identical hitting percentages, but No. 8 Penn State handed the Scarlet Raiders a 3-0 defeat in the Rec Hall’s South Gym.
Penn State 3, Rutgers-Newark 0
Both Kochan and de Groh hit .312 (7 kills, 2 errors, 16 attacks) to help the Scarlet Raiders (1-5) hit .202 as a team, but the Nittany Lions (7-2) hit a blistering .457 (55-13-92) to win 30-19, 30-22, 30-21. It marked the first time that Rutgers-Newark had been swept this season.
Junior setter
Jeff Zornig posted 26 assists, an ace and three assisted blocks while also dunking in three kills in five attacks.
Senior outside hitter
Nate Stott and sophomore outside hitter
Marcin Midura tallied five kills apiece in the balanced Rutgers-Newark attack. Stott added a solo block, two assisted blocks and four digs while Midura recorded an ace and three assists.
Senior middle blocker
Jon Keller got in on four blocks to help the Raiders forge a 9.0-7.5 edge in blocking, but he was limited to two kills by Penn State. Freshman libero
Tomas Goldsmith got six of the Raiders’ 17 digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Joe Sunder and senior opposite Will Price paced the Nittany Lions with 17 points apiece. Sunder hit .565 with 15 kills, and ace and two assisted blocks. Price totaled 14 kills, two aces and two assisted blocks.
Senior middle hitter Max Lipsitz hit .700 with seven kills and no errors in 10 swings, and he added three assisted blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Ryan Wolf hit .600 (11-2-15) to help PSU hit over.400 in each set. Sophomore setter Edgardo Goas notched 41 assists, six digs, three kills and four assisted blocks for Penn State.
Rutgers-Newark now has a week to prepare for a return to western Pennsylvania when the Scarlet Raiders visit Juniata on Friday and Saint Francis on Saturday.