by Christina Roukas

CRESSON, Pa.– The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team won its first match of the season at Mount Aloysius College on Sunday afternoon, defeating King's College 3-1 at the Athletic Convocation & Wellness Center.

King's (5-1) won the opening set 25-19, but Penn State Altoona (1-2) took the next three sets 25-23, 25-20, and 25-23 to grab a 3-1 victory in the match.

Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) led the Lions with 15 kills on a .522 attack percentage, and he also finished with three block assists. Kish's .522 attack percentage is the ninth-best in a single match in Penn State Altoona men's volleyball history.

Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) added 13 kills, seven digs, a team-high two service aces, two assists, and one block assist. Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) contributed 12 kills, as well as seven digs and a block assist. Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) had seven kills on a .313 attack percentage while posting a team-best three solo blocks.

Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) had a match-high total of 46 assists and also recorded five digs, three kills, and a block assist. Baker's 46 assists tie for the seventh-most in a single match in program history, and they are also the third-most by a player in a four-set match in team history.

Jeremy Winter (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) tied for the match lead in digs with 10. Eric Cassaday (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air) added four digs.

The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team had a combined total of 55 kills, 50 assists, six aces, and 38 digs. In program history, the Lions' 55 kills tie for the fourth-most in a four-set match, their 50 assists tie for the sixth-most in a four-set match, and their six aces tie for the seventh-most in a four-set match.

Penn State Altoona led 7-5 in the opening set, but King's used a 4-0 run to grab the lead and never let it go for the remainder of the set. The Monarchs led by as many as seven points later in the set and prevailed by six.

The Lions bounced back in the second set, getting out to a 6-3 lead that included kills from Kish and Sadler, as well as a Kish service ace, during that span. With the score tied 8-8, Penn State Altoona reeled off four straight points on a kill and ace from Silva, a Sadler kill, and a King's service error. The Monarchs fought back to tie the score 20-20 and 22-22 later in the set, then took a 23-22 advantage. But Penn State Altoona scored the final three points in a row on kills from Kish and Silva and a King's attack error.

Penn State Altoona pulled out another close set in the third to take a 2-1 lead in the match. King's led 16-12 midway through, but the Lions mounted an 8-0 run to claim a 20-16 advantage. That run was highlighted by three kills and two solo blocks by Ebersole, as well as kills from Silva and Sadler. Penn State Altoona held its lead the rest of the way and finished King's off in the set with back-to-back kills from Avery Farabaugh (Carrolltown, PA/Cambria Heights) and Kish.

The Lions sealed the win with another hard-fought victory in the fourth set. After a tightly-contested score for the first half of the set, Penn State Altoona established a 16-13 advantage. But King's closed the gap, and the teams found themselves tied 22-22. Kish's kill and a block from Kish and Sadler gave the Lions a 24-22 lead, and after the Monarchs stayed alive with a kill, another Kish kill provided the winning point for Penn State Altoona.

The Lions played a tight match against King's but came out victorious in the end.

The men's volleyball team's next match is away against non-conference opponent Wilkes University on Thursday, February 3 at 7:00 p.m.