Lions Sweep Medaille for Fifth Straight Win
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona men's volleyball extended its winning streak to five matches on Sunday afternoon, when it cruised to a 3-0 victory over North Eastern Athletic Conference and Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Medaille College in the Adler Arena.
The Lions (13-10, 4-1 NEAC / 2-1 AMCC) handled Medaille by scores of 25-15, 25-16, and 25-21. With the win, Penn State Altoona is now 5-0 during the month of March.
Dan Downs (Reading, PA/Daniel Boone) led the Lions in kills and blocks, recording 11 kills, three solo blocks, and two block assists to go along with a match-best .550 hitting percentage. Justin Bannister (Willow Hill, PA/Fannett-Metal) added six kills, eight digs, two solo blocks, two block assists, and two service aces. Dylan Appleman (Roaring Spring, PA/Central) also had six kills, and Ryan Dry (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) tallied five kills and two block assists.
Tommy Kisick (Latrobe, PA/Greater Latrobe) had a team-high 26 set assists while also contributing six digs, two block assists, and one solo block. Brandon Arentz (Mount Wolf, PA/Northeastern) totaled a match-high 12 digs, and Brian Sheddy (Shrewsbury, PA/Susquehannock) had seven digs. Jonathan Ruhl (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township) notched two aces.
Penn State Altoona rolled to a big win in the match's opening set. Tied 5-5 early, the Lions went on to outscore Medaille (5-19, 1-4 NEAC / 2-2 AMCC) 20-10 in the rest of the set. Ruhl's ace helped Penn State Altoona to its largest lead, 22-9. The Lions capitalized on a total of 11 attack errors by Medaille in the set.
The second set followed a similar script. With the score tied 5-5 again, the Lions outscored the Mavericks 20-11 through the remainder of the set. A kill from Dry made it 16-9 and brought on a Medaille timeout, and Sheddy's block helped his team increase its lead to nine, 23-14. The Lions picked up 10 points in the set from Maverick attack errors.
Penn State Altoona had to overcome a deficit in the third set. Trailing 17-14, the Lions ended the set on an 11-4 run. Sheddy's kill helped Penn State Altoona grab a 20-19 lead, and after a Medaille timeout, another Ruhl ace made it 21-19. Downs accounted for the final two points with a kill and a match-clinching solo block.
Lions volleyball's next match is Saturday, March 31, when the team will travel to face NEAC and AMCC foe D'Youville College for a 1:00 p.m. contest.
