by Casey Burinskas

PITTSBURGH – Men's volleyball was on the road Tuesday night to face off against Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Carlow University, and Penn State Altoona swept the Celtics 3-0 inside the St. Joseph Athletic Center.

Penn State Altoona (12-10, 2-0 AMCC) handled Carlow (0-13, 0-2 AMCC) in three sets, prevailing by scores of 25-13, 25-21, and 25-14. 17 different Lion players saw action in the win.

Owen Pratt (Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen) had a match-high 10 points for Penn State Altoona on nine kills and a pair of block assists. Joshua Harclerode (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) had 9.5 points on six kills, three service aces, and a block assist, and Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona) posted six points on three kills and three aces.

Zayden Tamashiro (McLean, VA/McLean) and Mason Grover (Penfield, NY/Penfield) split the setting duties, with Tamashiro recording 12 assists and Grover finishing with 11.

Fries and Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) had three digs apiece to lead the Lions in that category.

In the first set, the Lions pulled ahead with a kill from Fisher right off the bat, followed by two kills from Harclerode and a kill from Fries. Continuing, three kills and a service ace from McKenna helped the Lions to a 17-8 lead, on the road to victory in the first set. Harclerode's service ace made it 23-11, and a service error from the Celtics got Altoona to set point, 24-13. The Lions ended the first set with a final ace from Jacob Sandowski (Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandburg) that led to a score of 25-13.

In the second set, Pratt started it off for Altoona with two early kills. On an assist from Grover, Fletcher Fisher (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) landed a kill, and a Carlow service error helped Altoona to a 5-4 lead. After the Celtics went ahead 8-6, Grover put away a kill, and the next serve from Harclerode was an ace that tied the score at 8-8. Trailing 11-10, Michael Hansen (Palatine, IL/William Fremd) and Pratt were able to put up a block at the net to rattle Carlow, and the Celtics followed that with four errors to help the Lions go up 15-13. Up by four, 21-17, later in the set, kills by Pratt, Hansen, and Fletcher Fisher enhanced the Lions' lead, putting it at 24-19. Harclerode landed a kill from Grover to close out the second set with Altoona on top, 25-21.

Starting the third and final set, the Lions got an ace from Hansen, along with a solo block and a kill from Tyler Chu (Macungie, PA/Emmaus), to go up 6-3. Pratt landed a pair of kills, and Jason Velez (Forest Hill, MD/Bel Air) had a solo block to bring the score up to 10-4. Hansen came in with another kill, and Fries entered back into the game to serve up three aces that helped the Lions clear 20 points, putting their lead at 22-9. A Carlow service error and a Velez kill made it 24-13, and with a final kill for Altoona from Shawn Thomas (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright), the Lions swept the Celtics in the match, with the final set score being 25-14.

Next up, the men's volleyball team is back on the road against new AMCC opponent Buffalo State University this Friday, March 28, at 7 p.m. That match has been selected as the AMCC Match of the Week.