Men's Volleyball Taken Down by Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA- The Merrimack men's volleyball team had their five-game winning streak snapped by the Penn State Nittany Lions on Friday, February 28th despite a valiant effort. It was the two team's first meeting since 2023 when they played each other in the Merrimack men's volleyball team's first ever match.
 

Rapid Recap

Score: Merrimack 1, Penn State 3

Records: Merrimack 5-4, Penn State 5-8

How it Happened 

The first set would start out with the Warriors keeping pace with the Nittany Lions. Nick Tidik and Kasen Owens would get kills early in the frame. Despite the push from Penn State, the Warriors would stay in the game. Kai Vogel and Ephraim Abhulime would provide some insurance with kills of their own. Kai Vogel would continue the offensive pursuit with Kasen Owens to hang with the Nittany Lions. Despite a great effort from the Warriors, they would lose set 1 by a score of 25-19. 

The second set would see the Warriors finding an advantage and running with it throughout the first half of the set. Ephraim Abhulime, Kasen Owens, and Logan Whitaker would team up for a big block. Kasen Owens would provide some more firepower with a service ace to make the Warriors go up 7-5. The Warriors would find another lead courtesy of a spike from Kai Vogel. The middle of the set would be a back and forth tilt, with the Warriors trading points with the Nittany Lions. Ephraim Abhulime would have a clutch spike for point 18, and Kasen Owens would have an electric service ace to put the Warriors up 19-17 and force Penn State to call a timeout. Kai Vogel would energize the blue and gold with a block and a spike to strengthen the Warriors lead. Blake Taschner and Nick Tidik would team up for another clutch block. Kai Vogel and Logan Whitaker would have huge kills at the end of the set to give the Warriors a HUGE SET VICTORY 25-20!!!

The third set would be another back and forth battle. Kai Vogel and Logan Whitaker would have kills. Blake Taschner would have a clutch service ace halfway throughout the set. Dallas Birkenbeuel would get involved by contributing a spike of his own. Despite the Warriors' great effort, they went on to lose set 3 by a score of  25-18. 

The fourth set saw both teams trading points again. Nick Tidik would have a string of spikes throughout the frame. Kai Vogel would contribute some more kills and also tacked on a service ace. Kasen Owens would also contribute a handful of kills to give the Warriors some points. He would also team up with Ephraim Abhulime to provide another clutch block in front of the net. Despite the Warrior's big effort tonight, they lost the fourth set 25-16 and lost the match 3-1.

Notes and Numbers

• Kai Vogel had the most kills with 16

• Blake Taschner had a myriad of assists with 36

• Logan Whitaker had 8 kills and 6 digs

• Kasen Owens had 5 kills and 3 blocks

• Ephraim Abhulime had 5 kills and 3 blocks

Up Next

The Warriors return home on March 7th when they play the D'Youville University Saints at Hammel Court at 7PM. The game will be streamed on the Merrimack Sports Network. Link to watch will be on the Merrimack men's volleyball schedule. 

For continuing coverage of Merrimack Athletics and Merrimack men's volleyball, visit merrimackathletics.com . Follow Merrimack men's volleyball on Instagram @merrimackmvb .