Led by a match-high nine blocks from Williamsville native Max Lipsitz, the Penn State men’s volleyball team swept Cal. State- Northridge in the semi-final championship of the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Final Four, 30-21, 30-23, 30-28, on Thursday night.
Lipsitz, a six-foot-seven middle hitter and 2006 Williamsville North graduate, was named a First Team All-American this season and the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Player of the Year.
Tom Comfort, a 2009 Orchard Park graduate, is an opposite hitter for the Nittany Lions. The freshman was a Second Team All-American his senior year at Orchard Park and helped the Quakers to a 34-0 undefeated state championship.

Three other Western New Yorkers reached the Final Four as members of the Ohio State volleyball team. Orchard Park graduates John Klanac (’06) and Mike Stefani (’09) and Dale Freier (Lancaster, ’07) are outside hitters for a Buckeyes team that lost to top-seed Stanford in the other semi-final, 25-30, 26-30, 17-30.
Klanac was named to the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) First Team and was second on the team with 376 kills. He had 8 kills in the loss to Stanford.
Stefani, a First Team All-American his senior year at Orchard Park, was second in passing efficiency for the Buckeyes, committing only 8 errors in 252 attempts.
Freier was a Second Team All-American his senior year at Lancaster.
Penn State and Stanford will play for the NCAA championship on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The title game will be televised by ESPN2 and at ESPN3.com.

(James Goller is the publisher of OrchardParkSports.com)