UNION, N.J. – Penn State Altoona men's volleyball started its 2020 schedule on Friday night, suffering a 3-0 loss to No. 14 Stevenson University in day one of The Clash at Kean in the Harwood Arena.

Stevenson (1-0) earned a 25-16, 25-15, 25-14 victory in the match.

Ben Beaver (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) totaled a team-high five kills for Penn State Altoona (0-1) to go along with five digs. Nathaniel Reinert (State College, PA/State College) added four kills, two digs, and one service ace.

Mirko Pandini (Greensburg, PA/Greater Latrobe), Frank Perehinec (Altoona, PA/Altoona), and Tyler Sheaffer (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) each finished with three kills, while Jon Ramsey (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) totaled two kills and Daniel Jordan (Pittsburgh, PA/Thomas Jefferson) recorded one.

Pandini and Perehinec led the Lions in blocks, finishing with two block assists each. Perehinec also led the team in aces with two.

Sheaffer put up a team-high 15 assists to go along with three digs. Matthew Vandeveire (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) had a team-best six digs.

Penn State Altoona led 8-7 early in the first set, following back-to-back points for the Lions on a kill from Sheaffer and combo block by Pandini and Perehinec. But Stevenson responded by ripping off a 10-1 run to establish a 17-9 advantage. Penn State Altoona held its own through the rest of the set, but the Lions were unable to overcome the big deficit.

In the second set, the Mustangs grabbed an early lead and never relinquished it. Stevenson scored the first three points, en route to an eventual 20-8 lead. Penn State Altoona got three kills from Reinert among its final six points of the set, but the Lions lost by 11 points to dig themselves into a 2-0 hole in the match.

The Lions found themselves in a close score midway through the third set, before Stevenson pulled away to win it by 10 points. Consecutive aces from Perehinec trimmed an early Stevenson lead to 9-7, and kills from Sheaffer and Beaver – along with two Mustang errors – kept Penn State Altoona within two points, 13-11. But Stevenson proceeded to outscore the Lions 12-3 the rest of the way to seal the sweep.

Penn State Altoona resumes competition in The Clash at Kean tomorrow, Saturday, January 18 against two more nationally-ranked opponents. The Lions will take on No. 12 Elms College at 1:00 p.m. before finishing their weekend against No. 3 Stevens Institute of Technology at 3:00 p.m.