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Penn State tops Pepperdine to win NCAA volleyball title
STORY TOOLS 
More from CollegeIRVINE — Top-ranked Penn State won its first NCAA men's volleyball championship in 14 years, rallying for a 27-30, 33-31, 30-25, 30-23 victory over second-ranked Pepperdine on Saturday night.
Matt Anderson had 29 kills for the Nittany Lions (30-1), who beat UCLA in 1994 for their last NCAA men's volleyball title. Anderson, the national co-player of the year, was selected the NCAA tournament's most valuable player.
Teammate Luke Murray added a career-high 12 digs, tied a season best with 63 assists and had nine block assists. Max Lipsitz had 17 kills, and Max Holt added 12 kills, nine block assists and two service aces.
Penn State also became the second school to win NCAA men's and women's titles in the same academic year. Stanford accomplished the feat in 1997.
Paul Carroll had 35 kills, eight digs and three aces for the Waves (17-11). J.D. Schleppenbach, a Ventura High graduate, added 15 kills and four block assists, and Jonathan Winder passed for 60 assists.
The Nittany Lions lost the first game after taking a 15-7 lead, then saw Pepperdine rally from a 20-16 deficit for a 30-29 advantage in the second game. But with the score tied at 31, Ryan Sweitzer punched a kill and Anderson converted a tip for the win.
In the third game, Penn State used an 11-6 surge to take a 23-18 lead. Sweitzer had three kills and Holt added two in the run. The Nittany Lions took leads of 6-0 and 9-2 in the fourth game.
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