Lions Dominate Colonels in 3-0 Win
by Christina Roukas
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Penn State Altoona men's volleyball won 3-0 over non-conference opponent Wilkes University on Thursday night at the Marts Center.
The Lions (3-4) swept the first set by a 16-point margin, 25-9.
Penn State Altoona kept the same energy in the beginning of the second set with a six-point run. However, Wilkes (5-7) came back from a seven-point deficit to cut the Lions' lead to 24-21, but Jared Kish (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) closed the set with a kill to provide the win for the Lions, 25-21.
The third set started neck-in-neck, with the Lions and the Colonels going back and forth with the lead. The Lions took the lead back, 18-16, and eventually pulled through to win the set 25-19.
The Lions' Jared Bodisch (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) led all players with 14 points, eight kills, six aces, and a hitting percentage of .583, and he added six digs. His six aces tied for the second-most aces in a match by an individual player in Penn State Altoona men's volleyball history.
Kish contributed 9.5 points, finishing with seven kills, one service ace, one solo block, and one block assist, and he recorded a hitting percentage of .462. Philip Silva (Brazil/Richard Montgomery) had six kills on a .462 hitting percentage while adding a team-high seven digs and one solo block.
Connor Baker (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) finished with a match-high 27 assists to go along with five digs, two kills, and a block assist.
Connor Ebersole (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) had a team-high two solo blocks while recording three kills, and Trey Sadler (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) had four digs and three kills.
Penn State Altoona men's volleyball's next match is at home Wednesday, February 16, against Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Saint Vincent College at 7:00 p.m.