GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team returned to the court on Saturday afternoon, competing in a tri-match hosted by Thiel College at Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona (7-8, 0-1 AMCC) played its first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference match of the season to start the day, losing 3-1 to host Thiel. In their second match, the Lions fell 3-0 to non-conference opponent Adrian College.

Match One: Thiel 3, Penn State Altoona 1

Penn State Altoona started its 2024 AMCC schedule with a loss, as Thiel (7-8, 2-0 AMCC) prevailed in four sets to begin Saturday's tri-match. The home team took the first set 25-14, but the Lions responded by rallying for a 25-22 victory in the second set. However, the Tomcats had wins of 25-13 and 25-12 in the next two sets to record the match win.

Avery Farabaugh (Ebensburg, PA/Cambria Heights) had 9.5 points for the Lions on nine kills and a block assist, and he also recorded a team-high 15 digs. Willem Del Priore (Seven Valleys, PA/Dallastown) had nine points on eight kills and a service ace while adding 12 digs.

Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) and Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hillard Darby) contributed 6.5 points each. Ebersole finished with four kills, two solo blocks, and a block assist, while Kish had six kills and a block assist. Xavier Vang (Rogers, MN/Rogers) chipped in five points on five kills, and he also tallied 12 digs.

Mason Grover (Penfield, NY/Penfield) posted a team-best 31 assists for the Lions.

Thiel started the match by posting an 11-point victory over Penn State Altoona in the first set. The Lions kept pace with the home team early, as a Del Priore kill and an Ebersole and Farabaugh block helped Penn State Altoona keep the score tied, 3-3. Thiel grabbed the lead after that, but two Vang kills and one Farabaugh kill kept the Lions within two points, 8-6. Another Del Priore kill narrowed the Tomcats' lead to three, 10-7. However, Thiel outscored Penn State Altoona 15-7 over the rest of the set to win it 25-14.

In the second set, Penn State Altoona never led until the latter stages, when the Lions overtook Thiel's advantage to win the set by three points. The Tomcats led by as many as four points during the set, but Penn State Altoona was able to stay within striking distance, then made its move late. Down 20-17, the Lions scored the next three points on a Thiel service error and attack error, as well as a Farabaugh kill, to even the score for the first time since it was 3-3. Coming out of a timeout, Thiel scored the next point, but Penn State Altoona reeled off three more points in a row on Tomcat errors to jump ahead, 23-21. A Thiel service error got the Lions to set point, 24-22, and Farabaugh completed his team's comeback with a kill to give Penn State Altoona a 25-22 victory in the second set.

Thiel bounced back in a big way, defeating Penn State Altoona 25-13 in the third set to reclaim the lead in the match. Two Ebersole kills helped the Lions draw even with Thiel early in the set, making the score 2-2. But the Tomcats used a 6-0 run after that to create a six-point lead, then increased their advantage to eight points, 13-5, shortly thereafter. Penn State Altoona scored five of the next seven points, decreasing its deficit to 15-10 with the help of a Farabaugh kill and an Ebersole solo block. But the home team outscored the Lions 10-3 the rest of the way to prevail by 12 points in the third set.

The Tomcats continued their strong play in the fourth set, scoring the first four points and making their way out to a 7-1 lead. After that, Penn State Altoona got two kills from Vang and one from Farabaugh, but Thiel kept racking up points and increased its lead to 12, 17-5. Trailing 24-9 late in the set, Penn State Altoona scored three straight points on a Kish kill and a pair of Thiel errors, but the home team grabbed the next point to finish the set at 25-12 and hand the Lions a 3-1 loss in their first conference match.

Match Two: Adrian 3, Penn State Altoona 0

Penn State Altoona dipped back into non-conference play for its second and final match of the day, losing in three sets to Adrian (9-6) by scores of 25-21, 25-21, and 25-22.

Owen Pratt (Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen) and Farabaugh tied for the team lead in points with 10 each for Penn State Altoona. Pratt scored a team-high 10 kills while adding five digs, and Farabaugh had nine kills and an ace while compiling a team-leading 13 digs.

Del Priore finished with nine points on nine kills, and Kish totaled six points on five kills and an ace. Ebersole recorded five points on four kills and one solo block.

Grover tallied a match-high 35 assists to go along with five digs and two kills.

Vang finished with 12 digs.

Penn State Altoona led early in the first set, before Adrian worked its way on top and ultimately won by four. With the score tied 2-2, kills from Farabaugh and Ebersole put the Lions up by two, and kills from Del Priore and Farabaugh helped Penn State Altoona increase its lead to 7-4. But Adrian scored the next five straight points to establish a 9-7 advantage, and the Bulldogs grew their lead to 17-12 midway through the set. Down 19-15, the Lions scored three points in a row on kills from Kish and Pratt, as well as a Farabaugh ace, to cut their deficit to one, 19-18. But Adrian managed to hold its lead for the rest of the set, and despite two more Kish kills, Penn State Altoona fell 25-21.

The Lions held a lead for much of the second set, but Adrian jumped in front and ultimately pulled out a win. Down 6-4, Penn State Altoona reeled off a 6-1 run to go up 10-7, including getting two kills by Pratt and one apiece from Farabaugh, Del Priore, and Grover. The Lions continued to maintain a modest lead over the next several points, as kills from Grover, Farabaugh, Ebersole, and Pratt helped keep Penn State Altoona up by three, 16-13. Del Priore's kill put the Lions' advantage at 17-15, but Adrian scored the next four points after that to nab the lead, 19-17. Farabaugh's kill helped Penn State Altoona knot the score at 19-19, and Del Priore scored a kill to tie it again, 20-20. But the Bulldogs scored four in a row to get to set point, and Adrian proceeded to take the second set 25-21.

Penn State Altoona got the third set started with a Kish ace, and the score was tied through the first eight total points. Adrian went up 6-4 after that, but kills from Farabaugh and Kish kept the Lions within one, 7-6. Later, three straight Lion points, including a Del Priore kill, tied the score again, 9-9. Another kill from Del Priore and an Adrian attack error kept the score knotted, 11-11. The Bulldogs again grabbed a two-point lead, but kills from Ebersole, Pratt, and Farabaugh got Penn State Altoona back to within one, and an Adrian error tied the score at 15. The teams continued to exchange points, with two kills by Pratt and one from Del Priore, along with two Bulldog serving errors, keeping the score tied, 20-20. After that, Adrian scored two points, before kills from Pratt and Kish got the Lions back to within one, 23-22. But the Bulldogs scored two kills to finish the set at 25-22 and clinch the sweep over Penn State Altoona.

Next up, the Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team will play its first home match of the season this upcoming Wednesday, February 28, when the Lions will take on new AMCC opponent Carlow University at 7 p.m.