However, the more-seasoned Lions continued their dominant ways. Every glimpse of hope that the Eagles saw was quickly shut down by solid play from the Lions.
"Tonight we continued our disciplined play," Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said. "I'm pleased with where we're at eight weeks into the season."
From the early stages of the match, Juniata fed off of its high energy, forcing Penn State to commit errors uncharacteristic of its normal play. Sophomore outside hitter Alex Gutor led the Lions with 12 kills but only hit 0.148 and had eight hitting errors. As a team, the Lions also committed 12 service errors.
The Lions showed resilience and quickly rebounded from those errors. In the beginning of each game, the Eagles gained momentum, but Penn State found its rhythm each time. The Lions exposed Juniata's weaknesses and capitalized on them, especially with blocking defense. The Lions outblocked the Eagles 14-5.5.
"We knew we had physical advantages and we took care of that. I didn't want [Juniata] to believe they could hang with us," Pavlik said.
Sophomore outside hitter Aaron Smith was the bright spot in the Lions serving game, nailing a career-high five aces. Co-captains Keith Kowal and Nate Meerstein showed again why they are one of the nation's top middle duos. Kowal played another game without committing a hitting error, and Meerstein hit 0.636 for the match.
"We righted the ship when we had to," Pavlik said. "Tonight was a reflection and continuation of the success we've had in our last few matches."
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