Lions Drop Home Opener to Lancaster Bible
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona men's volleyball played its first home match since February 25, 2020 on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions lost 3-0 to No. 11 Lancaster Bible College in the Adler Arena.
The Chargers (11-3), who entered this week as the 11th-ranked team in the American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III Top 15 poll, swept Penn State Altoona (0-2) in straight sets by scores of 25-18, 25-12, and 25-13.
Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) finished the day with a team-best 10 kills, 11.0 points, and one solo block while swinging at a .389 clip and chipping in three digs. Frank Perehinec (Altoona, PA/Altoona) totaled six kills for the Lions, while Jared Bodisch (Red Lion, PA/Red Lions) had three kills, Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) posted two, and Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) recorded one.
Matthew Faust (New Oxford, PA/New Oxford) led Penn State Altoona in assists with 14 to go along with four digs, and Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) added seven assists.
Payton Reed (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) tallied a team-best six digs.
Penn State Altoona hung with Lancaster Bible for much of the match's first set. The Lions worked their way out to a 6-3 lead, with three kills from Silva and one kill from Perehinec included in their six points during that span. After a 7-0 run by the Chargers erased the Penn State Altoona lead, the Lions continued to keep it close later in the set, as three straight points decreased the visitors' advantage to 15-14. But Lancaster Bible ended the set on a 10-4 run to stake out a 1-0 lead in the match.
Early in the second set, two Perehinec kills and one Bodisch kill helped Penn State Altoona keep pace with the Chargers, 5-5. But Lancaster Bible outscored the Lions 20-7 in the rest of the set to earn a comfortable 13-point win.
The third set slipped away from Penn State Altoona in the middle stages. Three Silva kills and two Perehinec kills helped the Lions stay within two points of the Chargers, 9-7, in the early going. Another Silva kill several points later kept the home team's deficit at three, 11-8. But Lancaster Bible utilized another big run to expand its lead, reeling off a 9-0 rally to increase its advantage to 20-8 en route to a 12-point win in the set to clinch the sweep.
Penn State Altoona will return to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference competition for its next match, as the Lions will travel to Greenville, Pa. on Tuesday, March 23 to take on conference foe Thiel College at 7:00 p.m.
