BUFFALO, N.Y. – Penn State Altoona men's volleyball was handed a 3-0 loss on Saturday afternoon by Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Medaille College in the Sullivan Center.

Medaille (4-3, 3-1 AMCC) pulled out a close 26-24 victory in the first set, then edged Penn State Altoona (2-4, 2-3 AMCC) by scores of 25-20 and 25-21 in the next two sets.

Abel Gebre (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) finished with a team-high nine kills for the Lions to go along with two digs and one solo block. Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery), Frank Perehinec (Altoona, PA/Altoona), and Jared Bodisch (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) added six kills apiece. Bodisch also collected a team-best nine digs and also contributed one service ace and one block assist, and Perehinec had four digs.

Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) had four kills, one solo block, and one block assist, and Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) notched one solo block.

Matthew Faust (New Oxford, PA/New Oxford) finished with a team-high 16 assists to go along with five digs and one ace, and Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) chipped in nine assists and an ace.

Micah Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PA Cyber) tallied five digs, and Payton Reed (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) totaled three digs.

Down 19-16 in the first set, Penn State Altoona scored four of the next five points coming out of a timeout to tie the score 20-20. Bodisch's kill two points later kept the score even, 21-21. Medaille worked its way in front, 24-23, and Penn State Altoona briefly staved off the loss by picking up the next point on an attack error. But the Mavericks got kills on the next two plays to wrap up a two-point win in the opening set.

Penn State Altoona dug itself into a big hole early in the second set, then battled back – only to fall short. Medaille got out to an eight-point lead, 12-4, but a furious 13-5 run by the Lions tied things up 17-17. That run included three kills by Gebre and three kills from Kish. However, Medaille bounced back to outscore Penn State Altoona 8-3 the rest of the way to claim victory in the second set.

The Lions stayed within striking distance of Medaille throughout the third set, but they were unable to work their way on top by the end. Trailing 18-13 late in the set, Penn State Altoona was helped by kills from Perehinec and Gebre, as well as a Baker ace, to close the game to one, 20-19. But the Mavericks closed things out by winning five of the next seven points.

Penn State Altoona men's volleyball returns home for its next match, when the Lions will host AMCC opponent Saint Vincent College on Wednesday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m.