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MEN'S VOLLEYBALL Lions' season ends in national semifinals Penn State's season came to a close May 8 in the NCAA semifinals, as the fifth-seeded Nittany Lions fell short in a 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 16-25, 20-25) loss to No. 1 Lewis at Maples Pavilion in Stan- ford, Calif. "I think [Lewis] took it to another lev- el," head coach Mark Pavlik said. "We just didn't have an answer for their left side attack." The loss, which came on the heels of a 3-1 victory over fourth-seeded Hawaii two nights earlier in the NCAA play-in game, brought an end to a strong season that saw the Nittany Lions rebound from an 0-6 start to win 21 of their final 25 matches. They had won 17 in a row head- ing into their match against the Flyers. Three Lions led the offense with dou- ble-figure kills, led by 15 kills from three-time EIVA Player of the Year and two-time first-team AVCA All-Ameri- can Aaron Russell. Sophomore Chris Nugent finished second on the team with 12 kills and a team-high nine digs, while senior Nick Goodell posted 11 kills and seven digs. "It's been an unbelievable experience," said senior Connor Curry, who had sev- en digs. "I came here for the people mostly, the people on the team and the coaching staff. That's what I've been around for the past five years, and I wouldn't trade it for anything." Looking ahead, Penn State will play host to the 2016 NCAA championships, with Rec Hall serving as home to the weeklong event. WOMEN'S LACROSSE PSU falls to Tar Heels in NCAA quarterfinals Seventh-ranked Penn State saw its season end in the NCAA quarterfinals May 16, as No. 2 North Carolina used a 7-0 second-half run to prevail, 11-8. The host Tar Heels were able to do something no previous opponent ac- complished this season: overcome a Penn State halftime lead. After the Lions (16-5) opened an 8-4 lead with 28:47 left in the game, North Carolina reeled off seven unanswered goals. "Overall I think our team did an awe- some job [this season]," head coach Mis- sy Doherty said. "We had so many in- juries that we only ran one sub today, and in a game like this with the weather and how good UNC is, it's really tough. So I think we ran out of gas a little bit there in the second half." Maggie McCormick and Madison Cyr paced the Nittany Lion offense with a pair of goals apiece, while goalkeeper Emi Smith made nine saves against a potent UNC offense. "I thought our offense was fantastic when we were able to get the ball down to our end," Doherty said. "We were only down there maybe three times in the second half, and our defense came up with some great stops, too. We can't play defense for the whole half." ■ N O T E B O O K at Vanderbilt, and the players up there have been through so much over the years. The bond they all have is unique, and it's something that I know will keep going down the road. So, how tough of a decision was this? Alabama is arguably the cream of the crop. They've been at the top for years now, so did it come down to the wire? Or was Penn State the fa- vorite for the past month or so? I've already had people ask me how I could possibly turn down the chance to play at Alabama, but to me, this wasn't a really hard decision. Ever since the 8rst day I visited Penn State, I knew this was right for me. I was actually committed to Boston College at the time. That visit to Penn State was actually one of the main reasons I decided to back out of that com- mitment. They've been my number one school since that visit, which was March 28. I love it up there. I'll never forget com- ing over the hill and seeing the stadium, seeing the town. It just has everything a college football player could possibly ask for. Actually, it has everything any college student could ask for. It's just a great uni- versity and a great town. Do you have any idea what you want to major in? Also, is there any chance you could be an early enrollee? Yeah, I probably will enroll early. That's something I really want to do. … The coaches are on board with it, so I'm hoping we can make it work. I think that will really help me. But yeah, I want to major in communications, speci8cally sports broadcasting. I know that not everyone can be on "SportsCenter," but I'm really interested in that and I think I can be good at it. I work hard in every- thing I do, so academics are going to be very important for me. ■ DALTON CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

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