HIRAM, Ohio – Penn State Altoona men's volleyball was handed a tough loss on Wednesday evening, when the Lions fell 3-2 to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Hiram College in the Price Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona (3-17, 3-6 AMCC) overcame a 2-1 deficit in the match but was unable to pull out the victory in five sets. The Lions earned a hard-fought 28-26 win in the first set, but Hiram (7-11, 5-3 AMCC) countered with victories of 25-20 and 25-17 in the next two sets. Penn State Altoona tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-17 win in the fourth set, but Hiram came back for a 15-12 win in the fifth to claim victory in the match.

Avery Farabaugh (Ebensburg, PA/Cambria Heights) led all players in the match in points and kills, amassing 18 points and 16 kills to go along with eight digs, one service ace, and one solo block. Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) scored 16.5 points on 15 kills, one solo block, and one block assist while adding six digs.

Willem Del Priore (Seven Valleys, PA/Dallastown) had 12 points on 10 kills, one ace, and one solo block, and he also recorded eight digs. Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) scored 9.5 points on six kills, a team-high two service aces, one solo block, and one block assist.

Xavier Vang (Rogers, MN/Rogers) put up a match-high 36 assists, and he also tallied seven digs, a kill, and a solo block.

Jeremy Winter (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) anchored the Lions' defense with a team-high 10 digs.

Offensively, Penn State Altoona hit .217 as a team, the Lions' second-best attack percentage in a match this season.

Penn State Altoona jumped out to an early lead, then pulled out a win in a tightly-contested opening set. The Lions scored the first three points of the set on errors by Hiram, and Kish's kill and an attack error by the Terriers helped Penn State Altoona to a 5-1 advantage. Hiram came back to tie the set, 5-5, then eventually nabbed an 11-10 lead. The score remained close for the remainder of the set, with the lead changing hands multiple times and neither team leading by more than two points. Deadlocked at 21-21, Kish's kill put Penn State Altoona in front, but three straight Hiram points got the home team to set point, 24-22. However, the Lions stayed alive, tying the score 24-24 on a Farabaugh kill and Hiram setting error. Penn State Altoona got to set point, 26-25, following back-to-back Terrier errors, but a service error on the next point evened the score again, 26-26. The Lions were finally able to wrap things up, scoring the next two points on a Kish solo block and a Del Priore kill to post a 28-26 triumph in the first set.

Hiram overcame an early deficit to deal the Lions a loss in the second set. Penn State Altoona opened up a 6-2 advantage, getting kills from Ebersole and Del Priore along the way, as well as a solo block from Ebersole. But the Terriers used a 6-0 run to jump ahead, and while the Lions tied the score 12-12, Hiram reestablished its lead and never relinquished it.

The third set saw Hiram take control early and hold a solid lead throughout the game. The Terriers started off with a 6-1 lead, then boosted it to as high as 10 points, 21-11. Penn State Altoona used a 6-1 run late in the set to close the gap to five, 22-17, getting kills from Farabaugh and Del Priore and a combo block from Kish and Ebersole during that span. But Hiram scored the next three points in a row to close the set at 25-17, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

Penn State Altoona returned the favor to Hiram in the fourth set, winning 25-17 to tie the match score at 2-2. The Lions built a 10-3 lead, including two kills and an ace by Ebersole and a kill from Kish. Later, Penn State Altoona increased its lead to eight, 18-10, following a kill and an ace from Del Priore in back-to-back points. Kish's kill got the Lions to set point, 24-17, and a Hiram setting error gave Penn State Altoona the fourth-set victory.

The Lions held a lead midway through the fifth set, but Hiram rallied to win it. With the score tied 4-4, back-to-back kills from Alex Ferry (Warren, PA/Warren) and Kish put Penn State Altoona up by two, and Farabaugh's ace made it 8-5. Thomas Gelman (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Avenues) served up an ace to keep the Lions' lead at three points, 10-7, but Hiram proceeded to go on a 6-1 run to grab a 13-11 lead. Following a timeout, Ebersole's kill made it a one-point difference, but Hiram scored the next two points on a kill and a Lions error to take the fifth set 15-12 and win the match.

Next up, the Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team will return home for another AMCC match, as the Lions host conference opponent Hilbert College this Saturday, March 25 at 1 p.m.