Penn State’s good run of form wasn’t going to last all season.
After suffering a difficult loss to Ohio State on Sunday, the Nittany Lions dropped their first nonconference match in over a month on Wednesday, falling to sixth-ranked UC San Diego in straight sets (25-16, 25-21, 25-21).
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s match.
Early run sets the tone
At the start of the first set, there was little separation in performance between Penn State and San Diego.
With only a one point difference between the teams for the first seven points of the match, neither the Nittany Lions nor the Tritons created much distance on the scoreboard.