GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team registered its first win of the 2021 season on Tuesday evening, when the Lions defeated Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Thiel College 3-1 in the Beeghly Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona (1-2, 1-1 AMCC) secured wins in each of the match's first two sets, prevailing 25-20 and 25-16. Thiel (0-6, 0-4 AMCC) avoided being swept by taking the third set 25-22, but the Lions rolled to a 25-15 victory in the fourth set to close out the match.

As a team, Penn State Altoona posted a .225 attack percentage, its best kill percent in a match to date this season. Additionally, the Lions tied for the fifth-most block assists (18) in a match in program history, and the squad also tied for the ninth-most assists (47) in a four-set match and tied for the ninth-most kills (50) in a four-set match in team history.

It was a full team effort for Penn State Altoona in the win, as nine different players recorded at least one assist, eight different players notched at least one kill, and all 14 players on the roster finished with at least one dig.

Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) totaled a match-high 15.5 points and 14 kills while adding three block assists. Jared Bodisch (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) tallied 10.5 points on 10 kills and one block assist, and he also accumulated six digs.

Frank Perehinec (Altoona, PA/Altoona) posted a team-high 10 digs to go along with eight kills and three block assists, and Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) had a match-best four block assists while adding eight kills and five digs.

Abel Gebre (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) finished with six kills and a pair of block assists. Ryan Martin (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills) added two kills, Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) earned one kill and two block assists, and Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) picked up three block assists.

Matthew Faust (New Oxford, PA/New Oxford) helped power the Lions' offense with a team-high 24 assists, and he also led the squad with two service aces while chipping in two digs and one kill. Meanwhile, Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) put up 14 assists while adding three digs.

Micah Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PA Cyber) notched nine digs, while Payton Reed (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) finished with seven digs. Gebre and Kish posted two digs each, while Eric Cassaday (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air), Sam Mills (Fairfax, VA/ACS International School, London), Ebersole, Martin, and Silva had one each.

In the match's opening set, Penn State Altoona pulled away from Thiel with a scoring run in the middle stages. Tied 6-6, the Lions outscored the Tomcats 10-4 over the next 14 points, including kills from Bodisch, Gebre, and Silva, as well as a pair of combo blocks from Kish and Perehinec. After two straight points from Thiel, Penn State Altoona got two kills from Sadler and one apiece from Perehinec and Gebre over the next five points to expand its lead to seven, 20-13. The home team closed the gap to three, 21-18, but three Bodisch kills and one Silva kill helped the Lions triumph by five points in the set.

Down 3-2 early in the second set, Penn State Altoona reeled off a 5-0 run that included two Silva kills, one Perehinec kill, and a block from Ebersole and Perehinec to establish a 7-3 advantage. The Lions grew their lead throughout the set, as a pair of Gebre kills helped Penn State Altoona to a seven-point lead, 17-10. A late attack error from Thiel put the Lions up by eight, and Martin's kill accounted for the set's final point, giving Penn State Altoona a nine-point win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Thiel got out to a strong start in the third set, opening up a 10-4 lead. Penn State Altoona battled back to close the gap to one point on several different occasions, but the Lions were unable to get over the hump to tie the score or take the lead. A late kill from Silva cut Thiel's advantage to 22-21, but a service error and two kills helped the Tomcats score three of the next four points to stay alive in the match.

Penn State Altoona responded with its most efficient effort of the match in the fourth set, hitting .368 as a team and cruising to a 10-point set win. The Lions started the set on an 11-1 run, including two kills each from Bodisch and Silva. A pair of kills by Perehinec kept the difference at 10, 15-5, and Martin followed with a kill to make it an 11-point advantage, 16-5, for the Lions. Penn State Altoona was helped by Thiel mistakes throughout the rest of the set, as six of the Lions' final nine points came from Tomcat errors.

Penn State Altoona men's volleyball returns to campus for its next match, tomorrow, Wednesday, March 24, when the Lions will host AMCC opponent Hiram College at 7:00 p.m. in the Adler Arena.