Men’s Volleyball Pulls Out Five-Set Win Over Mounties
by Casey Burinskas
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team was back at home in Adler Arena on Tuesday night to face off against nearby Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference rival Mount Aloysius College, and the Lions were able to pick up an important conference win, 3-2.
Mount Aloysius (8-15, 2-3 AMCC) won the opening set 25-19, but Penn State Altoona (13-12, 3-2 AMCC) responded by taking the next two by scores of 25-22 and 25-23. The Mounties stayed alive with a 25-23 victory in the fourth, but the Lions grinded out a 17-15 triumph in the fifth to clinch a crucial AMCC win.
Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona) put up a match-high 28 points for Penn State Altoona on 22 kills, eight block assists, one solo block, and one service ace. Michael Hansen (Palatine, IL/William Fremd) scored 16.5 points on 11 kills, five block assists, and three solo blocks.
Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) had 12.5 points on 12 kills and a block assist, and he also tallied a team-high 18 digs. Owen Pratt (Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen) contributed 11.5 points on 11 kills and a block assist, and Landen Fisher (Altoona, PA/Altoona) added 10.5 points on seven kills and seven block assists.
Mason Grover (Penfield, NY/Penfield) put up a match-high 57 assists to go along with 14 digs and two block assists. Grover's total of 57 assists ranks as the second-most in a match by a Lions player in Penn State Altoona men's volleyball history.
As a team, Penn State Altoona racked up 24 block assists, the second-most in a match in program history. The Lions' tally of 16 total blocks is fourth-most in the team record books.
In the first set, the Mounties started off ahead by three, but Altoona quickly reloaded with a kill from Pratt and a kill from Fries. Errors from both sides led to Mount holding onto the lead with a score of 12-10. Back at the net, a kill from Fries allowed Altoona to try and play catch-up, but the Mounties held onto their lead deep into the set. Despite a final kill from Hansen, Mount Aloysius was able to take the first set by a score of 25-19.
Altoona was able to fight their way back into the second set to tie the match up at 1-1. Pratt's kill and a block from McKenna and Fisher landed the Lions an early lead. Trailing 12-10, the Lions began to pull ahead with a kill from McKenna, and another following later from Hansen. Down to the wire, Hansen and Pratt closed out the set with kills that gave Altoona the win with a score of 25-22.
The third set began with Altoona getting a McKenna kill, a Hansen solo block, and a duo block from Fries and Hansen. Tied up at 10-10, Altoona hooked some points on strong kills from Pratt, Fries, McKenna, and Hansen. Grover and Fisher, followed by Fries and Fisher, created a wall at the net to help Altoona to a 19-16 lead. The score became tied 21-21, until kills by Hansen, McKenna, and Pratt allowed the Lions to take the third set by a score of 25-23.
Down to the fourth, the Mounties started off strong with a run of five straight points to open the set against the Lions. Altoona responded quickly, tying the set at 5-5, helped by Fries and McKenna landing kills and Hansen getting another solo block. Mount Aloysius slowly began to pull away, increasing its lead to eight points, 23-15, late in the set. While Altoona was able to force several attack errors from Mount Aloysius along the way, and despite late kills from Fries and McKenna, the Lions were unable to defeat the Mounties in the fourth set, as the visitors ended with a score of 25-23 to force a fifth.
Into the fifth and final set, the Mounties were back on top after again starting off by scoring the first five points. Building back slowly, the Lions had three kills from Hansen and one apiece from Fries and Pratt, getting Altoona back to within one, 8-7. Going into the final points and trailing by five, 13-8, Altoona got kills from Fisher, McKenna, and Fries and a big block from Hansen and Fries to rally into the lead, 15-14. After a Lions attack error tied the score at 15-15, Altoona was able to lock in the last two points with a kill from Fries and a Mountie attack error, which led the home team to victory in the final set by a score of 17-15.
Next, the Lions will close their 2025 regular season schedule at home this Friday, April 4, when they host first-year AMCC opponent Houghton College at 7 p.m. in the Adler Arena.
