by Casey Burinskas

ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team was at home against non-conference opponent Randolph College on Friday night in Adler Arena, where the Lions were dealt their first loss of the weekend, falling 3-1 to the Wildcats.

Penn State Altoona (4-5) took the first set by a score of 25-19, but Randolph (2-6) bounced back and won the next three sets by scores of 25-19, 25-19, and 25-22.

The Lions' Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona) put up a team-high 17.5 points on 16 kills, one service ace, and one block assist. Lucas Petrones (Oxford, PA/Avon Grove Charter) totaled 14 points on nine kills, two aces, two solo blocks, and two block assists, and Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) contributed 11.5 points on nine ills, two solo blocks, and a block assist.

Mason Grover (Penfield, NY/Penfield) tallied 34 assists to go along with 11 digs, one ace, and one block assist.

Adam Chan (Framingham, MA/Framingham) recorded a team-best 12 digs.

In the first set, Altoona got off to a strong start where they put the first four points on the board with kills from McKenna and Michael Hansen (Palatine, IL/William Fremd), a solo block by McKenna, and a Randolph attack error. Fries landed another kill in the back of the court, before Landen Fisher (Altoona, PA/Altoona) and Petrones had kills of their own to give Altoona a 9-5 lead. The first service ace of the night from Fries put the Lions up 14-11, and a block from Hansen and Petrones was a huge play that put Altoona ahead 18-12. A late kill by McKenna and two errors from the Randolph side allowed Altoona to get to set point, 24-18, and Fries' kill gave the Lions a 25-19 win in the first set.

Leading off the second set, a block from Fisher and Fries put Altoona's first point on the board, and three kills from Fries and two from McKenna got the score to 7-7. Randolph began to pull away, however, and the Wildcats led by as many as eight points later in the set. Kills fell in from McKenna and Owen Pratt (Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen) in the latter stages of the set, but they weren't enough to stop Randolph, who took the set by a score of 25-19.

In the third set, Randolph set off onto a strong lead, 10-4, with the Lions getting kills from Hansen and Fries, as well as a huge block from Hansen and Grover, along the path. Later, another block from Petrones helped the Lions try and play catch up, trailing 17-10. Petrones put up a kill and Grover landed an ace to cut the Wildcats' lead to 20-15, and shortly thereafter, Petrones put down another ace to make it 23-17. A final kill from Fries made it 24-18, but the Wildcats scored a kill on the next point, and the third set went to Randolph, 25-19.

Starting the fourth set, Fries came in with the first kill for the Lions, but Altoona began to fall behind quickly. Kills from Fries and Fisher kept the Lions within three, 9-6, and Altoona later went on a 6-0 run and tied the set at 12-12 on a big block from McKenna and Fisher. Points bounced back and forth to keep the score close, including a Fries landing a kill and Petrones getting a block. Service errors by Randolph and a kill from Petrones had Altoona trailing by two, 22-20. Fries put up a kill to make it a one-point set, 23-22, but the Lions were unable to catch Randolph, who took the fourth set by a score of 25-23 to win the match.

Next, the men's volleyball team will take on Randolph again tomorrow, Saturday, February 8, at 9 a.m. to begin a home tri-match in Adler Arena. Penn State Altoona will face Gallaudet University at 1 p.m., with Gallaudet and Randolph meeting in the middle match at 11 a.m.