by Christina Roukas

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team continued its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule on Saturday evening at Geneva College's Metheny Fieldhouse, facing Medaille College and Geneva on the day.

In its first match, Penn State Altoona (5-5, 2-1 AMCC) handled Medaille to post a 3-1 victory. The Lions proceeded to fall 3-0 to Geneva in their second and final match of the day.

Match One: Penn State Altoona 3, Medaille 1

The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team won its fourth straight match, defeating AMCC opponent Medaille College in a 3-1 in the Lions' first match of Saturday's action at Geneva.

Penn State Altoona won the first set 25-23, but Medaille (3-9, 0-2 AMCC) bounced back to take the second set 25-20. But the Lions won the next two sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-20 to finish victorious in the match.

Penn State Altoona took an early lead in the first set. Jared Bodisch (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) had an ace followed by a kill from Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) one point later, extending Penn State Altoona's lead to 6-3. Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) also scored an impressive kill followed by an ace by Bodisch, putting Penn State Altoona up by eight, 18-10. Medaille nearly caught up to Penn State Altoona, as the Mavericks closed the gap to 24-23, but Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) closed the set with a kill.

Early in the second set, the score was neck-and-neck between the two teams. With the score at 4-4, Silva broke the tie with an ace. The score became tied once again, but Kish put Penn State Altoona back in front, 8-7. Medaille scored three straight points to take the lead, but the Lions came right back with three consecutive points of their own to make it 11-10. The set continued to be tight, and Bodisch notched another ace to keep the Lions within one, 18-17, of the Mavericks' lead. But Medaille held its lead the rest of the way and closed the set with a 25-20 win.

The Lions started the third set with kills from Bodisch, Kish, and Sadler to build a 5-4 lead. Penn State Altoona grew its advantage throughout the set, including a block from Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) and Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) that put Penn State Altoona up by seven, 20-13. Ebersole's kill made it a nine-point advantage for the Lions, and Penn State Altoona eventually won the set 25-15.

The Lions continued to hustle, getting out to an eight-point lead in the start of the fourth set, 10-2. Medaille came back and lowered the deficit to three, 15-12. But Penn State Altoona responded, and Ebersole's kill several points later put Altoona up by seven, 21-14. Medaille once again came back, closing the gap to 22-20. But another Ebersole kill, a block by Baker and Kish, and a Medaille attack error finished the set in favor of Penn State Altoona, 25-20.

Silva had a team-high 15.5 points and 12 kills, and he tied for the team lead in service aces with three. Bodisch had 12 points on nine kills and three aces, and he also tied for the team-high in digs with nine.

Kish and Ebersole each posted 11 points, with Kish totaling nine kills, two block assists, and one solo block, and Ebersole having eight kills, two block assists, one solo block, and one ace. Kish also swung at a .692 clip, while Ebersole's attack percentage was .429.

Baker put up a match-high 41 assists while adding three kills and two block assists, as well as contributing six digs. Sadler and Micah Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PA Cyber) each finished with nine digs, with Sadler also totaling five kills and a block assist.

Match Two: Geneva 3, Penn State Altoona 0

The Lions' win streak came to an end when they lost 3-0 to Geneva (6-10, 2-1 AMCC) in their second and final match of the day. Penn State Altoona and Geneva battled to a 35-33 decision in the first set, with the Golden Tornadoes coming out on top. The home team proceeded to win the next two sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-11.

In the first set, a service ace by Geneva put Penn State Altoona at set point, as the Lions trailed 24-21. But Penn State Altoona scored three straight points on a service error, Silva ace, and Bodisch kill to tie the score 24-24 and stay alive. Two kills from Kish kept the score tied, 27-27, and three Silva kills helped the Lions continue to keep pace with Geneva, 30-30. An attack error by the Golden Tornadoes put Penn State Altoona in front, but Geneva used a service error and block to jump ahead. Kills from Ebersole and Bodisch helped even the score 33-33, but Geneva got back-to-back kills to finish things off, 35-33.

Geneva used a late run in the second set to expand their lead and win it by a comfortable margin. After Sadler's kill kept Penn State Altoona within two points of the Golden Tornadoes' lead, 17-15, the home team went on a six-point run to make it 23-15. Geneva went on to win the set by eight, 25-17.

In the third set, Geneva used another run midway through to build a commanding lead. The Golden Tornadoes led 13-7 after a kill by Kish, but they went on a 7-0 run to turn their six-point advantage into a 13-point lead. Geneva finished the set with a 14-point win over Penn State Altoona and clinched the match sweep.

Silva led Penn State Altoona with 14.5 points, 12 kills, and two aces. Sadler contributed nine points on seven kills, two block assists, and an ace, and he also notched a match-high 15 digs.

Bodisch, Ebersole, and Kish each finished with five kills, with Kish and Ebersole also recorded one block assist each. Bodisch totaled five digs.

Baker tallied a team-high 30 assists and chipped in five digs. Brinker finished with six digs.

Penn State Altoona men's volleyball's next match is at home on Friday, February 25, when the Lions will welcome non-conference opponent Lancaster Bible College to the Adler Arena for a 7:00 p.m. match.