Lions Take Win in Fifth Set
by Christina Roukas
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team added another win to its season total after beating Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Saint Vincent College 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11) on Wednesday night in the Adler Arena.
In the first set, William Del Priore (Seven Valleys, PA/Dallastown) scored a kill to tie the score 2-2, and the Lions (3-15, 3-5 AMCC) took the lead on an attack error in the next point. Two kills in a row from Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) made it 11-7, and back-to-back Avery Farabaugh (Ebensburg, PA/Cambria Heights) kills put Penn State Altoona up 17-11. Alex Ferry's block (Warren, PA/Warren) put the Lions one point away from set point, 24-19, and Farabaugh scored set point with a kill, closing it at 25-21.
Del Priore started the second set with a kill, but Saint Vincent (7-8, 5-4 AMCC) went on to take a 7-5 lead. Del Priore followed with a kill to keep the Lions behind by one, and Farabaugh's tip later in the game kept the score at a one-point difference, 17-16. But Saint Vincent never surrendered its lead, and the Bearcats won the second set 25-21.
In the third set, Farabaugh's kill and Ebersole's ace erased an early Saint Vincent lead, tying the score at 4-4. Saint Vincent reclaimed the lead, but Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) scored a kill to keep Penn State Altoona within two, 10-8. A kill from Del Priore later tied the score at 18-18, but Saint Vincent scored four straight points after that to go up 22-18, and the Bearcats eventually won the third set 25-20.
In the fourth set, Saint Vincent worked its way out to a four-point lead, before Kish's kill made it 10-7. Ebersole scored a kill to put the Lions behind by one, 13-12, and Farabaugh broke a 15-15 tie with a kill to put the Lions on top. The Lions fell behind, but Penn State Altoona tied the score once again, 23-23. Two straight kills from Farabaugh closed the set 25-23, tying the match at 2-2.
In the fifth set, Farabaugh's kill tied the score 4-4, and the Lions took the lead 5-4 after a Saint Vincent error. Farabaugh and Ferry combined for a block to put Penn State Altoona up 10-6, and Ebersole's kill put his team's lead at 14-11 late in the set. After a timeout, Farabaugh closed the match with a kill, giving the Lions a 15-11 set win and a 3-2 overall match victory.
Penn State Altoona's Xavier Vang (Rogers, MN/Rogers) set a new single-match program record for assists, leading all players by recording 54 assists to surpass the team's previous single-match record of 53, which was set by former Lion Billy Smith on March 18, 2016 against Keuka College. Vang also totaled 10 digs, two kills, and one solo block in Wednesday's match.
The Lions' Farabaugh led all players in the match with career-highs by posting 24.5 points and 21 kills, and he added eight digs and four total blocks, tallying three solo blocks and one block assist. Ebersole also had career-highs in points and kills, accumulating 15 and 13, respectively.
Del Priore had a season-high 14 points on 14 kills while contributing eight digs, and Kish finished with 11 points on 10 kills and a solo block while adding nine digs.
Jeremy Winter (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) tied his career-high total for digs, posting a team-high 19 digs. Ferry finished with two blocks, one a solo and the other an assist.
The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team heads on the road to play No. 12-ranked Marymount University this Saturday, March 18. The match is set to start at 3 p.m.
