Lions Sweep Wittenberg in Home Opener
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team prevailed in its first home match of the season, sweeping non-conference opponent Wittenberg University 3-0 in the Adler Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Lions (2-4) won the match over Wittenberg (4-5) by scores of 25-20, 25-19, and 25-16.
Jared Bodisch (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) led Penn State Altoona in points with 9.0 on a team-high nine kills, and he also finished with seven digs. Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) had 8.5 points on seven kills, one solo block, and one block assist, and Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) recorded 7.5 points on five kills and a team-high two solo blocks and one block assist.
Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) totaled six kills and six digs, and Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) contributed five kills, one service ace, and one block assist. Avery Farabaugh (Carrolltown, PA/Cambria Heights) had two kills, an ace, and a solo block.
Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) helped power the Lions' offense with a match-high 30 assists, and he also led the team with 10 digs and two aces while chipping in two kills on three attempts and a block assist.
Jeremy Winter (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) totaled seven digs for the Lions.
As a team, Penn State Altoona compiled a season-best .310 attack percentage. Ebersole finished with a .571 attack percentage, and Kish swung at a .538 clip.
Penn State Altoona opened up a 6-2 lead in the first set, getting two kills from Silva, a kill by Bodisch, and block from Sadler during that span. Four consecutive kills from Ebersole, Bodisch, and Sadler helped the Lions increase their advantage to 11-5, and an Ebersole ace and Bodisch kill helped make it 14-7. Penn State Altoona maintained a comfortable lead throughout the rest of the set and got two late kills from Kish and Silva to put the score at set point. A Wittenberg service error provided the 25th point for the Lions.
With the score tied 13-13 midway through the second, Penn State Altoona pulled away by outscoring the Tigers 12-6 over the rest of the set. Baker and Ebersole combined for a block that gave the Lions a four-point lead, 18-14, and a Farabaugh kill later made it 22-16. After the visitors scored three straight points to narrow their deficit to 22-19, the Tigers committed three straight errors to help Penn State Altoona finish off the second set with a win.
The Lions took a 5-4 lead in the third set and never let it go for the remainder of the set. A solo block from Kish gave Penn State Altoona a 9-5 lead, and Baker's ace helped his team increase its advantage to 12-6. A Farabaugh kill boosted the Lions' lead to seven, 15-8, and his ace several points later made it 17-9. Sadler's solo block four points later got Penn State Altoona's lead to eight points, 19-11, and a Farabaugh solo block later increased it to 22-13. From that point, the Lions picked up their final three points on Wittenberg attack errors to close out the set and the match.
Penn State Altoona men's volleyball's next match is on the road this Thursday, February 10, traveling to Wilkes-Barre to face non-conference opponent Wilkes University at 7:00 p.m. That match is the makeup date from last Thursday's weather-related postponement.
