Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Mount Aloysius 3-0
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona men's volleyball recorded its 11th Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference win of the season on Wednesday night in the Adler Arena, when the Lions blanked nearby conference foe Mount Aloysius College 3-0.
Penn State Altoona (14-8, 11-3 AMCC) took the first set 25-13, then battled Mount Aloysius (4-21, 0-14 AMCC) for tight 25-23 and 27-25 wins in the second and third sets to pull out the tough win.
Jared Bodisch (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) led all players with 12 points for Penn State Altoona, recording team-highs with nine kills and three solo blocks while also leading the Lions in digs with 10. Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) and Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) had eight points apiece, with Sadler recording seven kills and one service ace to go along with five digs and Kish posting five kills, two solo blocks, and one ace.
Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) totaled five kills and one solo block, and Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) had four kills and two solo blocks. Ryan Martin (Pittsburgh, PA/North Hills) added three kills and one ace.
Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) put up a match-high 30 assists while adding eight digs, one ace, and one kill.
Penn State Altoona pulled away from Mount Aloysius midway through the first set. With the score tied 8-8, the Lions outscored the Mounties 17-7 the rest of the way. Ebersole's kill broke the tie, and a Kish solo block helped extend the Lions' lead to 14-10. Later, Penn State Altoona used a five-point run to increase its lead to 20-13, getting four of those points off of kills by Silva, Sadler, Ebersole, and Bodisch. The Lions scored their final three points of the set on an Ebersole block, Bodisch kill, and Mount Aloysius attack error.
Mount Aloysius led for much of the second set before Penn State Altoona rallied to win it at the end. Trailing 22-20, the Lions got three straight points on a Mountie service error, a Kish ace, and an attack error by the visitors. After Mount Aloysius tied the score 23-23, an Ebersole kill put Penn State Altoona back in front, and another Mountie error provided the set point for the Lions.
The Lions proceeded to pull out a back-and-forth third set. Things remained close throughout the set, and the teams found the score tied multiple times late. Down 23-22, the Lions got a kill from Martin to even the score, and they took the lead on Sadler's ace. However, Mount Aloysius tied the score on a kill, but Penn State Altoona went back up on a Mountie service error. A service error by the Lions tied the score again, 25-25, but Bodisch provided a kill on the next point, and an Avery Farabaugh (Carrolltown, PA/Cambria Heights) ace ended the set 27-25.
Penn State Altoona men's volleyball will continue its regular season-ending home stretch this Friday, April 1, when the Lions will welcome No. 13 ranked Marymount University to the Adler Arena for a match starting at 5:00 p.m.
