by Christina Roukas

HARRISONBURG, Va. – -The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team took two losses in a tri-match at Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday afternoon, falling 3-0 to both EMU and Arcadia University.

Match One: Eastern Mennonite 3, Penn State Altoona 0

Penn State Altoona (0-4) lost in straight sets to Eastern Mennonite (3-3) by scores of 25-17, 25-16, and 25-13.

In the first set, Avery Farabaugh (Ebensburg, PA/Cambria Heights) scored a back row kill to put the Lions behind by one, 4-3. Jared Kish's (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) kill later made it 14-7, and a kill from Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) narrowed the Royals' lead to 15-9. But Eastern Mennonite ultimately won the first set 25-17. 

In the second set, Kish's free ball kill kept the Lions within one of an early Royals' lead, making it 6-5. Willem Del Priore (Seven Valleys, PA/Dallastown) scored a kill to keep the Lions within one, 11-10. Later, trailing 19-12, Farabaugh scored a kill and followed with a solo block on the next point to get the Lions back to within five, 19-14. But the home team held their lead to win the second set 25-16.

Set three started with a 2-2 tie before Eastern Mennonite worked its way to a healthy 22-9 advantage. A kill by Ebersole broke a seven-point scoring streak by the home team late in the set, but Eastern Mennonite won the set 25-13 to clinch the match.

Farabaugh led the Lions with 12 points on 11 kills and a solo block while adding six digs. Kish had seven points on seven kills to go along with three digs, and Del Priore contributed five points on five kills with three digs. Ebersole had 4.5 points on four kills and a block assist.

Xavier Vang (Rogers, MN/Rogers) totaled 26 assists for the Lions while also recording three digs, a service ace, and a block assist. Jeremy Winter (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) tied for the team lead in digs with six.

Match Two: Arcadia 3, Penn State Altoona 0

The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team lost its second match of the day to Arcadia (1-3) in three sets by scores of 25-17, 25-17, and 25-18.

In the first set, Arcadia started on a 4-0 run until a kill from Ebersole broke the Knight's scoring streak. That was followed by another kill from Del Priore, and a block from Farabaugh and Ebersole lowered the Lions' deficit to one, 4-3. Later, a block from Vang and Alex Ferry (Warren, PA/Warren) kept Penn State Altoona within six, 15-9, and Kish's ace closed the gap to four, 15-11. But Arcadia bounced back to take an 11-point lead, 24-13. Del Priore's tip kept the Lions alive, followed by back-to-back aces from Farabuagh. But Arcadia scored the winning point to take the first set 25-17.

Farabaugh started the second set with a kill, followed by an ace from Vang to make it 2-0. The Lions played excellent offense early in the set, and a kill from Kish extended the Penn State Altoona lead to 5-1. However, the Knights came back to tie the match 8-8, then take the lead on the next point. An ace from Farabaugh kept the Lions within one, 14-13, but Arcadia began to pull away and won the second set 25-17.

In the third set, Del Priore scored a kill to tie the score at 2-2. Arcadia broke the tie on the next point, then took an 11-point lead, until Farabaugh's kill ended a 4-0 run to make it 16-6. Farabaugh and Ebersole followed with a duo block to make it a nine-point difference, 16-7, and a kill from Ebersole later made it 18-10. But Arcadia prevailed 25-18 in the set to seal the sweep.

Farabugh had a team-high 13 points for Penn State Altoona on eight kills, a match-high four aces, and two block assists. Del Priore posted eight points on eight kills, Kish had 5.5 points on four kills, one ace, and one block assist, and Ebersole finished with five points on four kills and two block assists.

Vang put up a match-high 24 assists to go along with six digs, one kill, one ace, and one block assist.

Winter recorded a team-high eight digs while chipping in a pair of assists.

The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team continues its season on the road this upcoming Tuesday, January 31, when the team will open its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule against Saint Vincent College. The match start time is set for 7:00 p.m.