It certainly wasn’t the way the No. 9 Penn State men's volleyball team wanted to bounce back after a loss to Ohio State last weekend, but the team fell to Harvard in three sets (25-23, 25-17, 25-23).
The loss is the second in a row for the Nittany Lions (9-3, 3-1 EIVA), and third this season. The Crimson out hit Penn State, .457-.244, and Penn State had 16 attacking errors.
Offensively, sophomore Aaron Russell recorded 11 kills, and his older brother, Peter, added 10 kills.
Penn State had only two blocks, while Harvard recorded seven. Harvard’s D.J. White recorded a match-high 13 kills, and Nick Madden recorded 10 for the Crimson (6-2, 2-1).
Penn State has lost its last six sets, stemming from a loss to Ohio State previously. This is not the first time Penn State and Harvard have met this season, as the Lions defeated the Crimson in five sets on Jan. 26.
The Nittany Lions will face Sacred Heart tonight in Connecticut at 8. Penn State downed Sacred Heart in three sets in January.
For a team that has struggled all season long to start strong in the first half, Penn State is hanging with Iowa after 20 minutes, trailing 38-34
Iowa dealt the first blow, building up a 17-7 lead seven minutes into the half.
The Nittany Lions managed to respond behind the inspired play of redshirt sophomore D.J. Newbill. Penn State went on a 16-0 run to take a 23-17 lead of its own. During the run Newbill was active on both sides with one of his most notable plays coming with the block of an Iowa three. Newbill missed a lay up then sprinted back on the defensive end just in time to block a shot.
The Lions avoided their usual cold streak, shooting 45.2 percent in the half on 14-of-31 shooting even going 4-of10 from three.
With their lead gone, it was time for the Hawkeyes to strike again going on a 9-0 run up until 6:00 remained in the half.
The teams battled back and forth the rest of the half, but the Hawkeyes were able to end with the momentum when forward Aaron White hit a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer.
While most of Lady Lions' media day on Wednesday centralized on the X's and O's in anticipation for the team's game against Iowa, sophomore ToriWaldner is looking forward to the weekend.
That's when the annual IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon commences in the Bryce Jordan Center for a 46-hour stretch, from Friday at 6 p.m. until Sunday at 4 p.m.
While Waldner is a sophomore, this weekend will be her first taste of THON as she and her teammates were traveling last year, incapable of participating in the event.
"This year, I was kind of the foreman to get us into everything," Waldner said about the team's involvement in THON this year.
Unfortunately, the Lions' activity will not include trying to upset the reigning men's gymnastics team in the pep rally's dance off [video below].
But the Lions will be throwing out T-shirts and have a presence in other aspects throughout the weekend, something that Waldner did not elaborate on.
Waldner said she is excited to finally be apart of the event because, "you can't have Penn State without THON."
Former Penn State wrestler Ken Chertow ended his youth training session Wednesday with a speech about the IOC's decision to cut wrestling from the 2020 Olympics. Chertow tells his athletes that the sport of wrestling can survive without the Olympic competition, but urged them to take action and fight the decision.
For some, recognizing greatness takes some time. The Big Ten is apparently that some.
The Big Ten named senior Alex Bentley Big Ten co-player of the week honors. Bentley shares the honor with Nebraska's Jordan Hooper.
For Bentley, it is the first time that she has won the award in her four-year collegiate career.
It could come as a surprise since the 5-foot-8 guard is on both the Wooden Top 30 List and Wade Trophy Watch List, two awards that recognize the country's best player.
The Indianapolis native earned the award after an unbelievable week, averaging 22 points, two and a half rebounds and two assists in two victories over Indiana and Michigan State.
It's the third time a Lady Lion has won award this season. Earlier this year, junior guard Maggie Lucas and senior center Nikki Greene also won the award.
Bentley will now look to repeat her success as the Lady Lions take on Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday night in Iowa.
After TJ Sanders' stellar collegiate debut, the Colonial Athletic Association named the Lions' freshman as rookie of the week on Monday evening.
The newcomer tallied five points in Penn State's 11-6 season opener victory over Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
The five-point performance, consisting of four goals and one assist, was the best on the team, beating out junior attackman Shane Sturgis four-goal game.
On Sunday, senior midfielder Nick Dolik said that it was great to see the game that Sanders had as a freshman.
However, Dolik added that the team wasn't too surprised to see his success after working with him in the offseason, but it was nice to know it translated into in-game performance.
Sanders, an Orillia, Ontario native, will now look to duplicate his success against No. 9 Denver on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla. in the Moe's Southwest Grill Classic.
Coach Patrick Chambers and the men's basketball team held a special practice in Rec Hall Monday night as the Nittany Lions worked out in a practice open to the public for the first time this season.
Despite riding an 11-game losing steak, players appeared upbeat. The sounds of Meek Mill resounded through the gym, keeping the team loose.
Several coaches and players sported shaved heads following the example of Chambers, who decided to go bald in support of the Penn State Panhellenic/IFC Dance Marathon.
The second-year head coach stressed his message of “Attitude” as the Lions went through drills and scrimmages to simulate in-game situations. Physicality was a big focus in the drills from coaches whacking players with large pads as they drove to the basket to players knocking each other to take charges.
Players were awarded “Attitude” points for their effort in practice. Points were scored for defensive stops and extra hustle. During a closeout drill sophomore Kevin Montminy, redshirt sophomore D.J. Newbill and senior Nick Colella earned gold, silver and bronze and were exempt from wind sprints that other players had to run.
Toward the end of practice players broke off into 5-on-5 scrimmage between the starting, or “blue” team, against the “white” team. Redshirt junior Jermaine Marshall, who was pulled from the starting lineup against Nebrasksa on Saturday after scoring just seven points on 2-of-14 shooting against Iowa the game prior, did not play with the starters in the scrimmage.
Practice ended with players being called to shoot free throws, missed foul shots resulted in wind sprints. Junior Alan Wisniewski, who played his first significant minutes against Nebraska, and freshman Brandon Taylor ended practice hitting both of their free throws back to back.
Chambers thanked those in attendance as the team left the floor.
The Lions will look for their first conference win on Thursday night at home against Iowa. Chambers has pledged to give $10 to THON for every student who attends the game.
Patrick Chambers has said he's tried "everything" to get students to attend home games in the past two seasons.
However, the second-year men's basketball coach took these efforts to an entire new level Monday when he announced on State College's B94.5 radio station he'll be donating $10 to THON for every student who attends Thursday night's game against Iowa.
"This is what I want to do for THON," Chambers said on the air. "So, any student who comes to the game Thursday night at 9 p.m., I will donate 10 dollars per student."
Chambers has been a major proponent of the Penn State Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon — which will begin just 21 hours after the Nittany Lions tip off in the BJC on Thursday — ever since taking over in Happy Valley.
His efforts to promote cancer awareness have been noticeable, having made a speech at THON last year and stressed the importance of the Coaches versus Cancer game earlier this season.
Chambers will likely be leaving a hefty mark on THON this year, as more than 1,400 students have purchased season tickets this year, according to the team's sports information director, Brian Siegrist.
"So if it's 200 [students], it's $2000," Chambers said. "If it's 500, it's $5000. And we can keep going."
However, the vocal coach made it quite clear that despite his team's recent struggles, students will have to stay the entire game if they wish to help lead to a donation.
"Now, you got to do me a favor," Chambers said toward students. "You got to stay the whole game. Don't leave at halftime on me. These guys are trying. They're out there practicing so hard. It's only a matter of time. We're close."
Siegrist said each student will receive a "pledge card" upon entering the facility, and as the game winds down, these cards will be collected to help calculate the total Chambers will donate.
Student tickets cost $5 for those without season tickets.
Check back to the Daily Collegian throughout the week for more coverage.
Penn State scored its third highest meet total of the season, yet lost to No.9 Nebraska 197.175-195.150 in Lincoln, Nebraska on Sunday.
The Nittany Lions performed well on the floor exercise, an area they had trouble in earlier in the season, posting a season high of 49.150. Sharaya Musser lead the Lions with a 9.900 score, while Lindsay Musgrove, Madison Merriam and Lexi Carroll all scored higher than a 9.800.
While the team did well on floor, the gymnasts experienced problems on the balance beam. As a team, Penn State accumulated a low 47.800 on the exercise.
Sidney Sanabria-Robles had the lowest score in the event for Penn State with a 9.100. Musser, who has scored the Lions’ top three scores on beam throughout the season, had a rare low-score routine, with a 9.225. Three other gymnasts tied for a 9.725 high for Penn State.
The Lions scored their highest total on vault with a 49.225. Each gymnast scored higher than a 9.800 and Merriam posted a 9.900.
Meanwhile, Nebraska scored a team total higher than 49.175 on each event in the meet, making it difficult for Penn State to reach the total the Cornhuskers scored throughout the meet.
Musser was the only Penn State gymnast to compete in the all-around earning a score of 38.825.
Two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Samantha Musto also competed in three events for Penn State in the meet. Musto competed in two events in the meet against Ohio State last week.
The Lions' next meet will be against Michigan in Ann Arbor on Feb. 16.
Even while in the middle of the Nevada desert, Big Ten gymnastics programs have been accustomed to finding themselves at the top of the standings after the scores are announced.
Penn State tied Michigan with top 10 finishes in eight events at this weekend’s Winter Cup in Las Vegas, which assembled 74 of the top gymnasts in the country vying to earn a place on the United States senior national team. Five of the six gymnasts representing the Blue & White this weekend advanced to the final round of competition on Saturday.
While the Nittany Lions had no individual event winners, they were the only team to place three gymnasts in the top 20 of the overall competition. Sophomore Matthew Felleman led the Lions with a combined score of 164.800 in two days of competition, placing ninth overall.
“It’s pretty exciting [finishing ninth]. It was nerve- racking competing against former Olympians,” said Felleman. “It gives me a perspective on what I have to do to going forward.”
Senior team captain Parker Raque and freshman Trevor Howard joined Felleman in the top-20 of the all-around competition, finishing in 15th and 19th respectively.
Sophomore Craig Hernandez, who is the NCAA scoring leader in the pommel horse, continued his streak of strong performances in Las Vegas. He rounded out the finals with a score of 14.450, earning the Libertyville, Ill. Native a place on the podium with a third-place finish.
The six gymnasts and coach Randy Jepson will return from Las Vegas this week and rejoin the team before traveling to Philadelphia to take on No.11 William and Mary and No.12 Temple in a tri-meet on Saturday.
