Men’s Volleyball Extends Win Streak in AMCC Opener
by Christina Roukas
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team won its third straight match on Wednesday night in the Adler Arena, defeating Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Saint Vincent College 3-0 in the teams' first conference match of the season.
Penn State Altoona (4-4, 1-0 AMCC) swept St. Vincent (0-7, 0-1 AMCC) by scores of 25-8, 25-17, and 25-17, finishing with a season-best .312 attack percentage in the win.
The Lions started the first set with a 3-0 lead against the Bearcats. Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) made a kill, putting Penn State Altoona up 6-3. Later, a Jared Bodisch (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) kill put the home team up by 15 points, 22-7. Ebersole blocked a Bearcat spike to close the set, 25-8. During the first set, the Lions swung at an impressive .480 clip as a team.
In the second set, Penn State Altoona got a point after a long early rally. Bodisch dove to save the ball from a St. Vincent attack, and the Lions free balled it back over to the Bearcats. St. Vincent spiked the ball back over once again, but Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) blocked it to close the rally and increase Penn State Altoona's lead to 4-1. Later, Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) rejected a Bearcat attempted kill, taking the point for Penn State Altoona and making it 18-11. Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) tipped the ball over for a kill to end the set with a 25-17 victory for the Lions.
In the third and final set, Penn State Altoona took a 4-0 lead, but the Bearcats came back to lower their deficit to one, 5-4. The Lions hung on to the lead, however, and Bodisch scored two points in a row on a kill and an ace to put Penn State Altoona up by seven, 17-10. Penn State Altoona kept a safe lead the rest of the way, winning the set 25-17.
The Lions' Bodisch led all players with 13 points and 12 kills while recording a .364 attack percentage, and he also had five digs and one service ace. Silva contributed 11 points and nine kills on a .312 attack percentage, and he tied for match-highs with eight digs and two solo blocks.
Kish had nine points with eight kills and one solo block, and he finished with a match-leading .545 attack percentage. Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) added six points on five kills and a solo block to go along with six digs.
Baker totaled a match-high 29 assists, tied for the match-high in digs with eight, and also contributed two kills and one solo block. Ebersole tied for the match lead in blocks with two solos while chipping in two kills.
The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team's next matches are this Saturday, February 19, when the Lions will continue their AMCC schedule on the road in a tri-match hosted at Geneva College. That day, Penn State Altoona will open against Medaille College at 4:30 p.m., then take on Geneva at 7:00 p.m.
