BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team came out on the losing end of a hard-fought Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference match on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions suffered a 3-2 loss to Medaille University at the Sullivan Center.

Medaille (8-16, 4-7 AMCC) pulled out a 31-29 win in the match's opening set, but Penn State Altoona (4-19, 4-8 AMCC) answered with a 25-19 victory in the second set. The back-and-forth play continued, with the Mavericks taking the third set 25-15 and the Lions winning the fourth 25-22. But Medaille prevailed 17-15 in the fifth set to grab the tough conference win.

Penn State Altoona's Avery Farabaugh (Ebensburg, PA/Cambria Heights) put up a match-high 21.5 points and tied for the match lead in kills with 19, adding nine digs, three block assists, and a service ace.

Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) and Willem Del Priore (Seven Valleys, PA/Dallastown) had 16.5 points each. Kish finished with 12 kills, eight digs, five total blocks (two solo blocks, three block assists), and an ace, while Del Priore contributed 11 kills, 10 digs, five block assists, and tied for the match lead in aces with three.

Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) recorded 10.5 points on eight total blocks (one solo block, seven block assists), five kills, and an ace. Ebersole's seven block assists are the fourth-most in a match in team history.

Xavier Vang (Rogers, MN/Rogers) finished with a team-best 46 assists to go along with three digs, one kill, one ace, and one block assist.

Jeremy Winter (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) led all players in the match with a career-high 20 digs.

Alex Ferry (Warren, PA/Warren) chipped in three block assists and a kill.

Penn State Altoona's team total of 14 blocks is tied for the fifth-most in a match in program history, and the Lions' 22 block assists in the match are tied for the second-most.

Medaille came out on top of a wild first set that required the Mavericks to score 31 points to win. Medaille led 12-8 in the set before Penn State Altoona embarked on a 6-0 run to jump ahead, getting three aces from Del Priore and a kill from Farabaugh along the way. The Lions got their lead to four, 19-15, following a Farabaugh kill and duo block by Del Priore and Kish. Medaille rallied to tie the score later in the set, and the teams were even at 21-21. A Del Priore kill and two Medaille attack errors got Penn State Altoona to set point, 24-21, but the Mavericks stayed alive by scoring the next three points in a row. The teams exchanged points over the next several plays, and after a kill by Del Priore knotted the score at 29-29, Medaille got a kill and an ace to finally end the opening set.

Penn State Altoona bounced back to win the second set, and the Lions were helped by Medaille committing 14 attack errors. Facing early deficits of 3-0 and 6-3, Penn State Altoona took its first lead of the set on a combo block by Vang and Ferry that made it 7-6. A block from Del Priore and Ebersole helped increase the Lions' lead to four, 16-12, and four straight Medaille errors later in the set boosted Penn State Altoona's advantage to six, 22-16. Up 23-19, back-to-back kills from Kish and Farabaugh gave the Lions a victory in the second set.

Medaille countered with a 10-point win in the third set, during which the Mavericks never trailed on the scoreboard. Early kills by Kish and Ebersole kept Penn State Altoona within two points, 5-3, but Medaille stayed on top and worked its lead to five, 16-11, midway through the set. The Mavericks got their lead to 10 points in the closing moments of the set, and the home team prevailed 25-15.

Penn State Altoona tied the match score at 2-2 with a victory in the fourth set. Farabaugh and Ebersole's duo block helped the Lions get out to a 5-2 lead, and Ebersole's solo block later made it 12-9. Medaille came back to tie the score several times over the remainder of the set, but the Mavericks never led, as Penn State Altoona answered with a point of its own to break each tie. Even at 21-21, the Lions scored three straight points on a Kish kill, a Medaille attack error, and a Farabaugh ace. After a Medaille kill, Del Priore scored a kill to end the set in favor of Penn State Altoona, 25-22.

Down 3-1 early in the fifth set, the Lions used a 4-1 run to grab a 5-4 lead, including getting three points in a row off of a Farabaugh kill, Ebersole ace, and combo block by Ferry and Farabaugh. Ferry's kill and Vang's ace made it 8-6, and kills by Del Priore helped Penn State Altoona to a 13-10 lead. The Lions got to set point, 14-11, but Medaille reeled off four straight points to go up 15-14. A kill by Farabaugh tied the score 15-15, but two Medaille kills followed to give the Mavericks a 17-15 victory in the decisive fifth set.

Next up, Penn State Altoona men's volleyball finishes its regular season schedule at home next Saturday, April 8, when the Lions will host AMCC opponent Wells College for a match beginning at 1 p.m.