Men’s Volleyball Prevails 3-1 in Return to Old Adler
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona men's volleyball hosted Thursday night's non-conference match with the University of Mount Union at the site of their 2017 North Eastern Athletic Conference championship win, the old Adler Gym.
Thursday's match marked the first NCAA varsity sporting event held in old Adler, now officially referred to as the Adler Auxiliary Gym, since April 15, 2017. On that day, Penn State Altoona men's volleyball defeated Wells College 3-1 to claim their first and only NEAC title. The Lions' victory that spring afternoon propelled the program into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Penn State Altoona men's volleyball no longer competes in the NEAC, instead playing fully within the program's primary conference, the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. The Adler Gym remains part of the campus' athletic complex, but its indoor varsity sports competitions are now held in the new Adler Arena, part of a multi-million dollar renovation and expansion project completed two years ago.
In Thursday's match, Penn State Altoona (7-4) earned a 3-1 victory over Mount Union (5-13). The Lions won the first two sets by scores of 25-13 and 25-20 before the Purple Raiders took the third set 25-22. Penn State Altoona recovered to win the fourth set 25-19.
Lions volleyball has now won three matches in a row, and the team has been victorious in seven of its past eight.
Brian Sheddy (Shrewsbury, PA/Susquehannock) totaled a team-high 12 kills for Penn State Altoona, and he also finished with five digs and two solo blocks. Ben Beaver (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) posted 10 kills, four digs, and two solo blocks.
Dan Downs (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) tallied seven kills, four digs, and a match-high three solo blocks. Frank Perehinec (Altoona, PA/Altoona) also recorded seven kills while chipping in one service ace.
Kyle Whiteman (Northampton, PA/Northampton) put up a team-best 20 assists while adding two digs and an ace, and Danny Dry (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) had 19 assists to go along with five digs. Tyler Chan (Framingham, MA/Framingham) led the Lions in digs with six.
Penn State Altoona men's volleyball returns to AMCC play with a big weekend of conference matches in the Adler Arena, wrapping up the Lions' home schedule for the season.
On Saturday, February 23, Penn State Altoona will face Penn State Behrend at 1:00 p.m. and Thiel College at 3:30 p.m. as part of an AMCC quad match that day. In the Adler Gym, Wittenberg University will take on Thiel College at 1:00 p.m. and then play Penn State Behrend at 3:30 p.m.
The next day, Sunday, February 24, Penn State Altoona hosts its final home match of 2019 when it plays Wittenberg at 1:00 p.m. in the Adler Arena. That match will be Senior Day for the Lions volleyball program.
