by Christina Roukas

ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team came away with two wins on Saturday, posting 3-0 victories over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponents Hilbert College and Thiel College during a conference tri-match in the Adler Arena.

The Lions (7-6, 4-1 AMCC) defeated Hilbert in three sets to start their day, then battled to another three-set victory over Thiel put a cap on the day's action. Thiel defeated Hilbert 3-0 in the middle match of Saturday's tri-match.

Match One: Penn State Altoona 3, Hilbert 0

Penn State Altoona won 3-0 against AMCC opponent Hilbert (1-12, 0-5 AMCC) to start Saturday's tri-match, prevailing 25-15, 25-14, and 25-20.

Hilbert started the first set with a 2-0 lead. Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) recorded a kill several points later to keep Penn State Altoona within one, followed by a hit by Jared Bodisch (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) that tied the game 6-6. Ebersole's ace put the Lions up by one, 8-7. Penn State Altoona added to its lead on a Bodisch backrow hit that made it 14-11. Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) reeled off a four-point serving streak, including two aces, to extend the Lions' lead to 21-13. Penn State Altoona took the first set by ten points, 25-15.

In the second set, Penn State Altoona started with a 3-0 lead, with two points coming from Bodisch with a spike and a tip. Duo blocks from Silva and Ebersole, then Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) and Ebersole, made it 10-3. Silva increased Penn State Altoona's lead to 15-4 with a hit through a block, followed by an ace from Sadler that made it 16-4. The Lions kept a healthy lead against the Hawks, and Penn State Altoona won a rally with Hilbert on Avery Farabaugh's (Carrolltown, PA/Cambria Heights) swing right over the net that resulted in a kill to put his team's advantage at 20-11. Ryan Martin (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills) had two kills to make it 23-13, and Sadler closed the set with a block to end it 25-14.

Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) started the third set with a spike through a block, but Hilbert tied it 1-1. The Lions responded with a kill from Kish, and Silva later dealt an ace to put Penn State Altoona up by six, 12-6. Sadler's cross-court kill upped the Lions' lead to 15-9, and Martin also had a kill to make it an eight-point advantage, 19-11. The Lions kept up the hustle, and Eric Cassaday (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air) ended a rally with a spike through the block to give Penn State Altoona a 20-11 lead. Bodisch closed the set 25-20 with a kill.

Bodisch led all players with 14 points, 13 kills, and nine digs while adding one solo block. Silva had 8.5 points and posted five digs, three kills, three service aces, two solo blocks, and one block assist. Sadler also had 8.5 points with six kills, five assists, two digs, one solo block, and one block assist.

Ebersole added four kills, two aces, two block assists, and one solo block, and Martin totaled five kills. Farabaugh and Kish finished with three kills apiece.

Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) totaled a match-high 26 assists while adding three digs and a kill.

Micah Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PA Cyber) tallied six digs, while Cassaday had four digs, two assists, and a kill and Jeremy Winter (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) posted three digs and two assists.

Penn State Altoona hit a season-best .313 as a team in the win and also finished with a match-high 7.0 team blocks.

Match Two: Penn State Altoona 3, Thiel 0

Penn State Altoona trailed Thiel (3-13, 2-3 AMCC) in each set of Saturday's match, but the Lions came back to claim 26-24, 25-22, and 25-23 victories.

The Tomcats started the first set with a four-point run. The Lions closed the gap to 6-4 when Bodisch scored a tip, then won a rally on Silva's spike that cut Thiel's lead to 7-6, followed by a back court hit by Bodisch that tied the set. Penn State Altoona took the lead, 8-7, after a duo block by Ebersole and Baker. The set score remained tight between the two teams, and an ace from Baker capped a 5-0 run to put Penn State Altoona up by three, 15-12. Silva's kill kept the Lions in the lead, 18-15. Penn State Altoona played excellent defense against the Tomcats, with Baker and Brinker making great saves against Thiel's attacks during a long rally that ultimately led to the visitors grabbing a 20-19 advantage. With the Tomcats one point away from closing the set and the Lions down by four, Penn State Altoona scored the next five straight points to come back and win the first set 26-24. Baker and Kish's combo block put the Lions up by one, 25-24, and a Thiel attack error ended the set.

Thiel started the second set with a 2-0 lead, but Kish scored a kill on the next point and Silva eventually tied the score 3-3 with a kill, followed by Ebersole's kill that put the Lions up by one. Ebersole came up with another big point, once again killing the ball to put the home team ahead 8-7. Just like the first set, the two teams were neck-and-neck during the second. Sadler blocked a Tomcat attack to keep Penn State Altoona in the lead, 12-11, and after Thiel responded by reclaiming the lead, Baker and Kish's block brought the Lions back to within one, 18-17. After a hitting error tied the score, Penn State Altoona took a 19-18 lead on Silva's spike. Leading 24-22 later in the set, Ebersole's block provided the winning point for Penn State Altoona, which took the second set 25-22.

The third set was again closely contested. With Thiel ahead, Sadler scored a kill, putting Penn State Altoona down by just one point, 6-5. Three points later, Brinker made a nice save to put the ball back in the Tomcats' side of the court, and Silva and Ebersole came up with a block to win the rally and keep the score differential at one, 8-7. Thiel expanded its lead, however, building a 20-15 advantage. The Lions answered with four straight points, including Kish swooshing the ball over the net for a kill. Penn State Altoona took the lead 22-21, but the Tomcats tied it 22-22. A bad set by Thiel put the Lions back in front, and kills from Sadler and Silva closed the third set 25-23.

Sadler and Bodisch each led Penn State Altoona with 11 points and 10 kills. Sadler also had 10 digs and one solo block, and Bodisch served one ace. Kish contributed 10 points on eight kills, two block assists, and one solo block, and Silva had 9.5 points on eight kills and a block assist to go along with five digs.

Baker recorded 33 assists, a season-high 12 digs and three block assists, and two service aces.

Brinker also had a season-high digs total, leading all players in the match with 16 digs. Ebersole finished with two block assists and one solo block, as well as two kills.

The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team's next match is away on Wednesday, March 2 against nearby AMCC opponent Mount Aloysius College. That match is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.