ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team lost 3-2 to non-conference opponent Elizabethtown College on Thursday evening in the Thompson Gymnasium.

Elizabethtown (2-0) won the opening set by a tight 25-23 score, but Penn State Altoona (0-2) took the next two sets 25-18 and 25-23 to grab a 2-1 lead in the match. But the Blue Jays bounced back with a big 25-12 win in the fourth set, then grinded out a 19-17 victory in the decisive fifth set to defeat the Lions.

Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) tied for the match-high in kills for Penn State Altoona, recording 22 kills on a .389 attack percentage to go along with seven digs, a match-leading four service aces, three assists, and three block assists. Silva led all players in the match with 27.5 points, finishing with the most points by a Penn State Altoona player in a single match in men's volleyball history. His total of 22 kills also tied for the fifth-most kills in a match in program history.

Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) notched 17.0 points, recording 14 kills for the Lions while also finishing with four digs, three assists, two block assists, and one solo block. Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) tallied 10.0 points on six kills, a team-best two solo blocks and two block assists, and one service ace. Ryan Martin (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills) added five kills and three aces.

Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) put up a team-best 45 assists, and he also finished with eight digs, five kills, and two aces. Baker's 45 assists tied for the eighth-most in a single match in Lions history.

Jeremy Winter (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) tallied a team-high 12 digs. Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) posted three block assists and one solo block, and Eric Cassaday (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air) added four digs.

Penn State Altoona finished with 11 aces, tying for the eighth-most for the team in a single match in program history. It also tied for the most aces in a five-set match in team history.

The Lions found themselves in a close set during the first, with the score tied 22-22 late. A ball handling error and kill by Elizabethtown put Penn State Altoona on the brink of a first-set loss, 24-22, but Silva answered with a kill to keep the Lions alive. But the Blue Jays responded to that with a kill of their own, closing out the first set 25-23.

Penn State Altoona responded with a strong performance in the second set to even the match score. The Lions worked their way out to a 15-9 advantage, with that run including three kills from Silva and two apiece by Baker and Sadler. Two combination blocks from Ebersole and Silva helped Penn State Altoona extend its lead to 21-14 later, and the Lions recorded four more points on a kill and an ace from Silva, an Elizabethtown service error, and an Avery Farabaugh (Carrolltown, PA/Cambria Heights) kill to close out the set.

The Lions pulled away from an early deadlock to win the third set. With the score tied 3-3, two Sadler kills, single kills from Silva, Baker, and Ebersole, and two Blue Jay service errors put Penn State Altoona up 10-9. Later, Martin's kill helped the Lions go ahead by four points, 20-16. Elizabethtown closed the gap to one point twice late in the set, 23-22 and 24-23, but Silva's kill finished off the Blue Jays and gave Penn State Altoona a 2-1 lead in the match.

Elizabethtown responded with an emphatic 25-12 win in the fourth set to even the match score at 2-2. Penn State Altoona had the set score tied at 8-8, including a four-point run that consisted of kills from Sadler, Baker, and Silva, as well as a Silva service ace. But the Blue Jays outscored the Lions 17-4 the rest of the way to knot the match score.

In the fifth set, Penn State Altoona jumped out to a 4-1 lead following an Elizabethtown service error, kills from Silva and Sadler, and a Martin ace. Later, Baker's kill put the Lions ahead 9-5. But a 7-0 run by Elizabethtown flipped the script, putting the home team ahead 12-9. Penn State Altoona battled back to tie the score 14-14, and after that, kills from Sadler and Silva and an Elizabethtown service error put the Lions up 17-16. But the Blue Jays closed out the final set with three straight points, getting a kill and two blocks to win 19-17 and take the match in five sets.

Penn State Altoona men's volleyball returns to action this upcoming Sunday, January 30 at 12:30 p.m., when the Lions will face King's College in a non-conference match hosted at Mount Aloysius College's Athletic Convocation and Wellness Center in Cresson.