by Casey Burinskas

ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team took on Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Saint Vincent College on Wednesday night in Adler Arena, and the visiting Bearcats came back from two sets down to hand the Lions a 3-2 loss.

Penn State Altoona (10-10, 2-3 AMCC) built a 2-0 lead in the match, winning the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-19. But St. Vincent (15-7, 6-0 AMCC) pulled off the reverse sweep over the Lions, prevailing in the next three sets by scores of 26-24, 25-22, and 15-10.

Mason Grover (Penfield, NY/Penfield) set Penn State Altoona's single-match assists record, totaling a match-high 59 assists to help power the Lions' offense while chipping in six digs, one kill, and one solo block.

Avery Farabaugh (Ebensburg, PA/Cambria Heights) led the Lions in points, kills, and total blocks, racking up 28.5 points, 24 kills, three solo blocks, and one block assist to go along with 11 digs and a service ace. Farabaugh's totals of 28.5 points and 24 kills ranked as the second-most in a match in team history.

Willem Del Priore (Seven Valleys, PA/Dallastown) had 16.5 points on 14 kills, one solo block, one block assist, and an ace while also tallying six digs. Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) contributed 15.5 points on 14 kills, one block assist, and an ace.

Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) recorded 8.5 points on four kills, two aces, two solo blocks, and one block assist, and Owen Pratt (Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen) finished with seven points on seven kills while adding seven digs.

Xavier Vang (Rogers, MN/Rogers) tied for the match lead in digs with 12.

In the first set, Penn State Altoona started with a strong kill from Farabaugh, assisted by Grover, to put the Lions on the board. Two more kills from Del Priore and Ebersole gave Altoona their first lead of the set, 3-2. Down 5-4 to St. Vincent shortly thereafter, Altoona responded with a scoring run of six points that included kills from Kish, Pratt, and Farabaugh, as well as a service ace from Ebersole. Ending the run was a block from Kish and Ebersole that left the Lions with a 11-4 lead. Further into the set, the Lions still kept a significant lead. With a service ace from Kish, Altoona became two points away from a win in the first set, making it 24-16. St. Vincent went on a 6-0 run to close the gap to 24-22, but a kill from Ebersole concluded the set with the Lions on top, 25-22.

A kill from Del Priore started the Lions off in the second set. Two kills from Farabaugh and another from Del Priore brought the Lions up to a score of four points, but two service errors from Altoona gave St. Vincent the tie, 5-5. A block by Ebersole and Del Priore, along with a kill from Del Priore, brought Altoona into the lead, 12-10, midway through the set. A kill from Kish and ace by Ebersole helped give the Lions a 17-13 lead later, and an Ebersole solo block, Farabaugh kill, and two St. Vincent service errors helped land the Lions a win in the second set, 25-19.

In the third set, the first points were scored by Kish with a kill, and a pair of kills from Farabaugh cut an early St. Vincent lead to 4-3. Behind 5-3, a service error, Farabaugh kill, and attack error put Altoona in front, 6-5. With the Lions down 11-8 later, a kill from Pratt started an Altoona comeback, kills from Farabaugh and Kish brought the Lions up to a score of 11 points, and an attack error from the Bearcats knotted the set score at 12-12. Later, a service ace from Del Priore and a kill and block from Farabaugh put the Lions in front, 17-16. A kill from Farabaugh tied the score at 19-19 later, but St. Vincent pulled away by scoring the next two points after that. A kill from Kish, received from Grover, and a block by Grover brought the Lions back into it once again, tying the score 21-21. With the score at 24-24, St. Vincent was able to steal two points from Altoona, securing the third set, 26-24.

The fourth set started with a kill from Del Priore, followed by another kill from Farabaugh that was connected from Grover. Three straight kills from Pratt, Kish, and Farabaugh brought the Lions to a 7-4 lead, but St. Vincent quickly pulled ahead on a 6-0 run that gave the Bearcats a 10-7 lead. Responding from a 12-9 deficit, the Lions got a kill from Del Priore, a block from Farabaugh, and a kill from Pratt to put themselves in a tie, 12-12. Shortly after, a kill by Pratt kept the set tied, 15-15, and two kills from Farabaugh and a St. Vincent attack error allowed Altoona to get back in the lead, 19-18. A kill from Del Priore evened the score at 20-20, but St. Vincent got two kills and a block to grab a 23-20 advantage. Altoona was able to score two more points in the set on a St. Vincent service error and a kill from Pratt, but the Lions fell to the Bearcats in the fourth set by a score of 25-22.

The match advanced to a final set, where a bad set attempt from St. Vincent and a hard block by Farabaugh started the Lions off with a 2-1 lead. A kill, block, and ace from Ebersole helped the Lions pull forward to a 5-3 advantage, but the Bearcats responded with a 4-0 run to go on top, 7-5. A St. Vincent service error and kill from Pratt helped Altoona tie the score, 7-7, but the Bearcats scored the next four points to make it 11-7. Kills from Kish and Farabaugh added to Altoona's score, but St. Vincent ultimately took the fifth set by a score of 15-10 to win the match,

Next up, the men's volleyball team will take on AMCC opponent Wells College at home this Friday, March 22, at 7 p.m. in the Adler Arena.s