by McKenzie Quirin

HOUGHTON, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team got back in the win column on Friday night, when the Lions won 3-0 over non-conference opponent Houghton University in Nielsen Center.

Penn State Altoona (9-9) reeled off wins of 25-11, 25-8 and 25-14 to hand Houghton University (2-14) its fourth loss since February 14.

Avery Farabaugh (Ebensburg, PA/Cambria Heights) led Penn State Altoona's attack with a 12-point night on 10 kills, two block assists, and one solo block while recording 11 digs. Willem Del Priore (Seven Valleys, PA/Dallastown) had nine points on eight kills and a service ace, and he added four digs.

Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) recorded eight points on six kills, two block assists, and a solo block. Landen Fisher (Altoona, PA/Altoona) and Mason Grover (Penfield, NY/Penfield) tallied five points apiece, with Fisher scoring five kills and Grover having a match-high four aces to go along with one kill and six digs. Grover also led all players in the match with 35 assists.

Zach Gahagan (Martinsburg, PA/Central) and Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) tallied four points apiece, with each player scoring four kills.

As a team, Penn State Altoona finished with a .443 attack percentage, the sixth-best team attack percentage in a match in Lions history.

After kills from Del Priore and Farabaugh, as well as an attack error from Houghton, Penn State Altoona put up a 3-0 score to start the first set. Despite a kill by the Highlanders' Devin Burns to get them on the board, it was all Lions, when Penn State Altoona went up 10-1 from two kills, a service ace and four attack errors. The Lions led by as many as 14 points in the set, when they took a 25-11 win to start the match.

The second set remained all Penn State Altoona, as the Lions continued their impressive performance from the first part of the match. With two Del Priore kills and kills by Fisher and Farabaugh, Penn State Altoona found themselves up 4-0 early, but Houghton answered with two quick points from a Highlander kill and an attack error from the Lions. The set had a little back-and-forth action in the middle stages, as both Penn State Altoona and Houghton scored points on multiple kills and service errors. Leading 17-8, Penn State Altoona held the Highlanders off the score sheet the rest of the way, as the Lions finished the second set with a 25-8 win.

In the third set, Penn State Altoona felt more of Houghton's competitive side, as the Highlanders kept the score close for majority of the set. Houghton took the first score, up 1-0 after a kill by Thomas McGlynn. A Houghton attack error and a kill by Del Priore put the Lions back up, 2-1. Back-and-forth action had Penn State Altoona and the Highlanders neck and neck, until the Lions went on a run and took the lead by a large margin of 10 points, 20-10. Houghton had scoring opportunities that pulled them closer to Penn State Altoona's lead, but the Lions finished the match by sealing a 25-14 win in the third set.

Next up, Penn State Altoona men's volleyball wraps up its weekend road trip by facing Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Hilbert College tomorrow, Saturday, March 16, at 12 p.m.