BUFFALO, N.Y. – To say the game was exciting would be an understatement. 

Hilbert College and Penn State Altoona left everything they had on the volleyball court this morning in their last NEAC regular season game of the 2015 season.

Someone had to win and someone had to lose.  But when evaluating the statistics one would think Penn State Altoona picked up the win.  Altoona out-hit the Hawks (75-69 kills), (.326 to .266) and earned two more digs (76-74) while adding one more block on the day.

The Hawks from Hilbert grabbed the odd games (1/3/5) and the Lions from Altoona earned the even games (2/4).  Hilbert captured 25-23, 25-23 and 15-13 set scores while Altoona's wins were 25-22 and 25-21.  Thirteen total points spread over five sets separated the two teams.

Altoona gave Hilbert eight points off errors unrelated to offensive attacks.  The Lions were whistled for four ball handling errors (Hilbert, none) and served 14 balls into the net or long, out of bounds.

Six total players finished the match with double-digit kills with Hilbert's Korey Schwab earning a career high 27 kills (.377) along with 14 digs and one block assist.

Altoona's Matt Huey finished with 24 kills to lead the Lions.

Andrew Wolbert earned a career-high 14 kills and Brett Kane added 13 kills, 13 digs and three block assists.   Ryan Brewster gave the Hawks six kills (.400) and five block assists.

Adam Heftka had 57 assists bounding over David Mellerski and taking over as Hilbert's All Time career leader with 1,161 assists.  The sophomore also added 5 kills, nine digs and two block assists.

Ryan Ratajczak's 18 digs and four assists helped keep the offensive moving. 

Hilbert built a four-point lead mid-way through the first set before Altoona pulled even at 20-20. Brett Kane's back-to-back kills broke the 23-23 score and got Hilbert to 25 points first.

After Altoona built a 10-3 score, the Hawks slowly crawled back to a 16-16 tie.  The final points in the game were earned off 11 kills and no hitting errors.  Hilbert gave the Lions two points off service errors in that rotation which ultimately cost them the 25-22 game.

Hilbert jumped out to a four point lead early (7-3) and held that advantage until Altoona strung together three straight to cut the score to 19-18.  Two Hilbert kills (Wolbert and James Moscato) gave the Hawks a three-point lead again, but the Lions knotted the score again at 21.  Two Hilbert  kills and two Altoona errors gave the Hawks the 25-23 final.

Each team traded points all the way to 11-11 score.  But three Altoona kills and two Hilbert errors force the Hawks to call a time-out as they trailed 16-11. Hilbert pulled within one, thanks to three Altoona errors and a Kane kill, but the Lions stayed on top and sprinted to a 25-21 score to even the match at 2-2.

Altoona kept Hilbert in check, always adding a point to their side of the score board ahead of the Hawks.  Hilbert jumped ahead and built a 10-7 lead off four straight points.  That lead was enough to get them to 15 points first which they earned off Korey Schwab's 27th kill of the day.

Hilbert closes out their 2015 season next weekend when they travel to No. 4 Juniata College for a tri-match with Eastern Mennonite University April 4.