Men’s Volleyball Splits Sunday Tri-Match
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona men's volleyball added a loss and a win to its season record on Sunday afternoon, losing to North Eastern Athletic Conference opponent Lancaster Bible College before bouncing back to defeat Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference foe Hiram College in the Adler Arena.
Penn State Altoona (8-9, 1-1 NEAC / 1-0 AMCC) suffered a 3-0 sweep in its first match of the day, falling 25-20, 25-21, 25-19 to Lancaster Bible (9-3, 2-0 NEAC).
The Lions' Dan Downs (Reading, PA/Daniel Boone) finished with a team-high eight kills and two solo blocks. Justin Bannister (Willow Hill, PA/Fannett-Metal) added six kills and four digs, and Brian Sheddy (Shrewsbury, PA/Susquehannock) also recorded six kills to go along with one solo block and a team-best 12 digs. Brandon Arentz (Mount Wolf, PA/Northeastern) posted four kills, four digs, and one solo block.
Tommy Kisick (Latrobe, PA/Greater Latrobe) finished the match with a team-high 22 assists and also contributed four digs.
In the Lions' second match, they rebounded to sweep first-year AMCC opponent Hiram (3-10, 0-2 AMCC) by scores of 25-16, 25-18, and 25-21.
In the match, Penn State Altoona set team records for the most kills in a three-set match (49) and most assists in a three-set match (48) in program history.
Sheddy led the way for the Lions, posting a match-high 12 kills to go along with seven digs, one service ace, and one solo block. Downs added 11 kills, three digs, and a block assist, and Bannister contributed nine kills, six digs, two aces, and one solo block.
Arentz recorded seven kills and one solo block while finishing second on the team with 10 digs. Ian Rathgeb (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) had six kills and six digs.
Kisick put up a match-high 36 assists and also led Penn State Altoona in both digs and blocks, finishing with 13 digs, two solo blocks, and one block assist. Jonathan Ruhl (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township) recorded seven digs.
Penn State Altoona posted a season-best .327 attack percentage in the win.
Lions volleyball gets back in action on Saturday, February 24 when it travels to play AMCC opponent Penn State Behrend for a 2:00 p.m. match in Erie.
