Lions Secure First AMCC Win in Home Opener
by Casey Burinskas
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team played its first home match of the 2024 season on Wednesday night in Adler Arena, and the Lions were able to nab their first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference win of the year with a 3-1 victory over Carlow University.
Carlow (2-10, 0-2 AMCC) started the match by grinding out a 28-26 win in the opening set. But Penn State Altoona (8-8, 1-1 AMCC) pulled itself together and posted wins of 25-16, 25-16, and 25-21 in the next three sets to take the match.
The Lions' Avery Farabaugh (Ebensburg, PA/Cambria Heights) led all players in the match with 19.5 points on 17 kills, two service aces, and a block assist to go along with eight digs. Willem Del Priore (Seven Valleys, PA/Dallastown) totaled 14 points on 13 kills and an ace, and he also tallied a match-high 10 digs. Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) scored 12 points on 10 kills, an ace, and a solo block.
Landen Fisher (Altoona, PA/Altoona) chipped in eight points on four kills, an ace, and a match-leading three solo blocks. Owen Pratt (Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen) had seven points on five kills and a pair of solo blocks, and Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) recorded 6.5 points on five kills, a solo block, and a block assist.
Mason Grover (Penfield, NY/Penfield) finished with a match-high 47 assists while adding seven digs and two solo blocks.
In the first set, Carlow put the first two points on the board, but the Lions were quick to respond with a kill from Del Priore. With another kill from Farabaugh, Altoona held an early lead of 5-3. The Lions held on to their lead with a kill from Kish that made it 7-5, and a service error from Carlow gave Altoona an 8-6 lead. With the set tied at 8-8, a kill and a service ace from Kish put the Lions back in front, 10-8. After a run of three attack errors from Carlow, Altoona increased its lead to four, 15-11, and kills from Ebersole, Pratt, and Del Priore kept the Lions up by three, 19-16. Narrowing down to the end of the set, the score became tied at 20-20. Another kill from Del Priore put Altoona up by one, and a Carlow service error tied the set at 22-22. Kills from Kish and Del Priore kept the score tied later in the set, 26-26, but Carlow was able to pull ahead and take a 28-26 win in the first set.
Starting the second, Altoona scored first with an attack error from Carlow. A kill from Farabaugh placed the Lions in the lead, 4-3, and a kill by Ebersole pulled the Lions ahead 5-4. Leading 11-9, Altoona went on an 8-2 run, including kills from Ebersole, Pratt, and Kish, aces by Fisher and Farabaugh, and a Grover solo block. After another block by Grover and two more kills from Del Priore, the Lions led 23-14. Farabaugh scored a kill to get it to set point, and Carlow's attack error provided the winning point, helping Altoona come out on top in the second set, 25-16.
After Carlow scored the first point of the third set, Altoona got a run of three points on Fisher's kill and solo block and a Farabaugh kill. After a point by the visitors, Altoona pulled forward to score the next five points, including a kill from Fisher, a service ace from Del Priore, and another block from Fisher, which brought the Lions to an 8-2 lead. Farabaugh's kill one point later made it 9-3, and two kills from Kish put the Lions ahead by five points, 11-6. Altoona went on another 5-0 run later in the set, including kills from Farabaugh and Kish and a solo block by Pratt, to go
Beginning the fourth set, the Lions were first to strike with a kill from Del Priore. With the score at 2-2, three kills by Farabaugh and a block from Farabaugh and Ebersole were part of a 5-0 run that gave Altoona a 7-2 lead. Another Farabaugh kill, as well as a block and a kill from Fisher, brought the Lions to a score of 13-7. Later, Farabaugh's ace helped grow Altoona's lead to seven points, 19-12. Carlow was able to bring the Lions' lead down to three, 23-20, but the Celtics were quickly denied when Farabaugh landed two more kills, bringing Altoona a 25-21 victory in the fourth set.
Next up, the Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team will travel to take on AMCC opponent Geneva College on Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m.
