Men’s Volleyball falls in four sets to Penn State Altoona

ALTOONA, Pa. --- Carlow University men's volleyball faced a reverse sweep at Penn State Altoona Wednesday night.

The Celtics (2-10, 0-2 AMCC) won the first set in a win-by-two situation, 28-26, but the Lions (8-8, 1-1 AMCC) defeated Carlow through the next three sets by scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-21.

Russ Cyprowski and Will Piccolino led the Celtics with 13 kills apiece. James Stone tallied three of Carlow's six solo blocks on the night and recorded 26 assists, while Piccolino and Logan Alexander added nine digs each.

The teams traded leads and tied the game 10 times throughout the first set. Tied at 23-all, both teams committed attacking errors to see the game tied again at 24 to force the win-by-two scenario. An Altoona error handed the Celtics a 25-24 advantage as each team traded kills back and forth. Piccolino swung on a kill to put Carlow up, 27-26, and Cyprowski struck the final blow to give Carlow the 28-26 win.

Both teams kept it close throughout the second set, with the Celtics trailing 11-10 midway through; however, an Altoona kill set off an 8-1 run that afforded the Lions a 19-11 lead en route to a 25-16 victory.

Altoona jumped out to an 8-2 advantage early in the third set, but the Celtics battled back to trail by three. The Lions strung together an 8-2 run to lead 22-13, and despite Carlow's best efforts, Altoona took the third set by the same score of 25-16.

Trailing two sets to one, the Celtics fell behind early in the fourth set, 8-3. Carlow slowly chipped away, trailing by three points after a kill from Cyprowski toward the end of the game. A Lions kill gave Altoona set point before Piccolino hit a kill to make it 24-21. The Lions scored the set and match point off a kill from Avery Farabaugh to secure the victory.

The Lions held Carlow to single digit kills in each set and hit .262 as a team on the night.

Farabaugh led all players with 17 kills, and Willem Del Priore added 10 kills and 13 digs.

The Celtics return to action after spring break with a 7 p.m. home game against St. Vincent March 13.