by Christina Roukas

ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team lost 3-0 on Friday evening to No. 13 Marymount University in the Adler Arena.

Marymount (22-6) swept the Lions (14-9) in three sets by scores of 25-18, 25-17, and 25-20.

In the first set, the Lions started off strong with a 5-1 lead. Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) scored a kill, followed by a duo block by Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) and Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) that put Altoona's lead at 11-7. The Saints tied the match 12-12 and eventually took a 15-12 lead, following a 7-0 run. Jared Bodisch (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) scored a tip to lower the Lions' deficit to three, 20-17, but Marymount outscored Penn State Altoona 5-1 the rest of the way and took the first set 25-18.

In the second set, Kish scored a kill to put Altoona in an early lead, 2-1. Marymount went ahead 4-2, but Silva responded with a kill to make it 4-3. The Lions tied the set 4-4 on a Silva solo block, and Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) scored a kill to put the Lions back in the lead, 5-4. It continued to be a close second set between the Lions and the Saints, until Marymount began to pull away and established a 17-12 lead. Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) scored a kill, lowering Penn State Altoona's deficit to 17-14, and Baker's push kept the Lions within three, 18-15. But Marymount again pulled away and took the second set 25-17.

A Baker ace and kills by Kish and Silva helped Penn State Altoona to a 4-3 lead to start the third set, and Baker's block put the Lions up 7-6. After Marymount worked its way into the lead, Sadler also scored a block, followed by an ace by Bodisch that cut the Saints' lead to 12-10. Bodisch stayed hot with a back row kill to keep the Lions within five, 16-11, then scored another kill to trim Penn State Altoona's deficit to 19-16. But the Lions were unable to get any closer than three points, and Marymount went on to win the set 25-20.

Silva led the Lions with 11.5 points, finishing with seven kills, three block assists, two solo blocks, and one service ace. Bodisch contributed nine points on a team-high eight kills while adding one ace, and he also recorded six digs.

Baker totaled a team-high 22 assists and eight digs while also posting one solo block, one block assist, one ace, and one kill.

Kish finished with four block assists and one solo block while chipping in three kills, and Sadler also contributed three kills to go along with seven digs and a solo block. Ebersole had a solo block and two kills.

Micah Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PA Cyber) totaled seven digs.

The Lions finish their regular season schedule tomorrow at home with a pair of Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference matches in the Adler Arena. Penn State Altoona takes on Penn State Behrend at 12:00 p.m., then faces Geneva College at 5:00 p.m. Behrend and Geneva will play each other at 2:30 p.m.

Prior to the 12:00 p.m. match, Penn State Altoona men's volleyball will hold its Senior Day ceremony, recognizing senior players Brinker and Eric Cassaday (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air) on their four-year collegiate careers.