Penn State Wins Volleyball Hall Of Fame-Morgan Classic
Consolation - Ohio State 3, Springfield College 1 -
Boxscore/Play By Play
Championship - Penn State 3, UC-Irvine 2 -
Boxscore/Play By Play
View Day 1 Results
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Feb. 21, 2004- Springfield College junior swing hitter
Brandon Mueller (Bartlett, Ill.) recorded 22 kills but Ohio State swept the final two games to break a 1-1 deadlock and beat the Pride, 3-1 (30-27, 23-30, 30-18, 30-18), in the consolation match of the 2004 Volleyball Hall of Fame-Morgan Classic tonight in Blake Arena at Springfield College.
“We thrive on top Division I competition, and when we are playing our ‘A’ game, we are usually fine,” said Springfield College head coach
Charlie Sullivan. “But we slipped to a ‘B+’ in the third game, and then the wheels came off in the fourth. But we will keep improving by playing outstanding teams like Ohio State.”
Senior middle hitter Adam Pederson (Muskego, Wisc.) had 11 kills on just 15 attempts (.600 attack percentage) to go along with eight blocks for Ohio State (8-5). Pederson was voted to the all-tournament team. He had seven kills in the Buckeyes’ 3-1 loss to Cal-Irvine in the first round.
Ohio State received a strong performance from sophomore outside hitter Mark Greaves (Fenton, Mo.), who led the Buckeyes with 16 kills. Senior setter Mark Peckham (London, Ontario) added 55 assists and 10 blocks in the victory.
Mueller, who had 25 kills against Penn State in the first round in a 3-1 loss, joined Pederson on the all-tournament team. Senior swing hitter
Chris Hosely (Nassua, N.Y.) did a good job starting in place of
Clay Speigel, who was ill. Hosely had nine kills and seven digs. SC, which is the top-ranked team in Division III, falls to 4-6 overall.
Championship: Penn State 3, Cal-Irvine 2
Penn State junior middle hitter
Keith Kowal (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had 17 kills and seven blocks to earn most valuable player honors as the 12th-ranked Nittany Lions overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat No. 8 California-Irvine, 3-2, in the championship match of the Volleyball Hall of Fame-Morgan Classic tonight.
This was the eighth trip to the Volleyball Hall of Fame-Morgan Classic for the Nittany Lions, and their seventh Classic title.
Kowal was joined by Penn State teammates
Matt Proper (Guys Mills, Pa.), a sophomore outside hitter, and senior libero
Ricky Mattei (San Juan. P.R.) on the all-tournament team. Proper had 19 kills and seven blocks tonight, and Mattei registered 13 digs.
Cal-Irvine senior All-American outside hitter
Jimmy Pelzel (Lake Forest, Calif.) totaled 18 kills tonight to become the Anteaters’ all-time leader in that category with 1,432. Freshman outside hitter
Matt Webber (Brentwood, Calif.), who set a school record with six service aces last night against Ohio State, added 19 kills and three services aces tonight. Both Pelzel and Webber were all-tournament team selections.
Ohio State senior setter
Mark Peckham was given the Sportsmanship Award.
Volleyball Hall Of Fame-Morgan Classic (Springfield College, Mass.)
Friday, Feb. 20
Cal-Irvine 3, Ohio State 1 (30-28, 27-30, 30-20, 30-24)
Penn State 3, Springfield College 1 (30-21, 31-33, 30-25, 30-26)
Saturday, Feb. 21
Ohio State 3, Springfield College 1 (30-27, 23-30, 30-18, 30-18)
Penn State 3, Cal-Irvine 2 (26-30, 28-30, 30-21, 30-26, 18-16)
All-Tournament Team: Cal-Irvine (Jimmy Pelzel, Matt Webber); Penn State (Matt Proper, Ricky Mattei); Ohio State (Adam Pederson); Springfield College (Brandon Mueller)
Most Valuable Player: Keith Kowal, Penn State.
With seven national championships to his credit, Charlie Sullivan will enter his 15th season as head coach of the men's volleyball team in 2013. In 14 previous years at the helm, Sullivan owns an overall record of 224-155 for a .591 winning percentage. Read more.