HAMBURG, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team suffered another tough Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference loss on Saturday, when the Lions were defeated 3-2 by Hilbert College in the Hafner Recreation Center.

Penn State Altoona (12-12, 2-2 AMCC) had a lopsided win in the opening set, coming out on top by a score of 25-13. Hilbert (9-10, 4-1 AMCC) answered by pulling out a 29-27 victory in the second set, then took the lead with a 25-16 triumph in the third. The Lions stayed alive with a 25-20 win in the fourth set, but the Hawks edged Penn State Altoona 18-16 in the fifth to take the match.

In the loss, Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona) set the Penn State Altoona men's volleyball program's single-match record for points. Fries racked up a team record-setting 30 points on 25 kills – a total that tied the Lions' single-match kills record – four service aces, and two block assists. The team's previous points record in a match was 29, established by former Lion Avery Farabaugh on February 11, 2024, against Saint Vincent College.

Meanwhile, Owen Pratt (Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen) had 15.5 points on 13 kills, two aces, and a block assist, and Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) recorded 11.5 points on 10 kills, an ace, and a block assist. Michael Hansen (Palatine, IL/William Fremd) netted 9.5 points on eight kills and three block assists.

Mason Grover (Penfield, NY/Penfield) put up a match-high 52 assists to go along with three aces, one block assist, and one kill.

Adam Chan (Framingham, MA/Framingham) led all players in digs with 22, while Fries totaled 17 digs.

With the score tied 3-3 in the first set, Penn State Altoona went on a 7-2 run to grab a 10-5 lead, getting an ace from McKenna and kills by Pratt and Fries along the way. Later, McKenna and Hansen teamed up on a block to make it 15-8, and Hansen and Grover's duo block one point later made it 16-9. An ace from Grover boosted the Lions' lead to 23-12, and back-to-back kills from Fries ended the set at 25-13.

Hilbert woke up in the second set to score 16 of the first 25 points, working its way out to a 16-9 advantage. Penn State Altoona battled back, using a 9-4 run to close the gap to two points, 20-18. Hilbert got to set point, 24-22, before the Lions scored three points in a row on kills from Pratt and Landen Fisher (Altoona, PA/Altoona) and a Pratt service ace. The Hawks made it to another set point, 27-26, but a McKenna kill kept Penn State Altoona alive and tied the score at 27-27. But Hilbert scored the next two points, winning the second set 29-27 and evening the match score at 1-1.

The Hawks carried their momentum into the third set, growing a lead steadily and going up by as many as eight points, 20-12. Penn State Altoona had its worst hitting performance of the match in the third, as the Lions committed 10 attack errors to help Hilbert secure a 25-16 win.

Penn State Altoona got back on track in the fourth set, overcoming a Hilbert lead to win it. The Hawks began with a 9-4 lead and held a 15-13 advantage midway through the set. But, after that, kills from McKenna and Hansen, along with a Fries service ace, helped Penn State Altoona knot the score at 18-18. After Hilbert jumped back in front, 20-19, a Hawks service error and two Fries kills put the Lions ahead. Following a Hilbert timeout, a Pratt ace, Jacob Sandowski (Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandburg) kill, and Hawks attack error helped Penn State Altoona clinch a 25-20 victory in the fourth set to tie the match score at 2-2.

The decisive fifth set was tightly contested. Hilbert started with a narrow 10-8 lead, but Penn State Altoona worked its way back to tie the score at 14-14. A serving error by the Lions put the Hawks at set point, but a Fries kill tied the score at 15-15. After that, the teams exchanged points on service errors to keep the score tied, 16-16. But Hilbert scored the next two points on a kill and a Lions attack error to grind out an 18-16 win in the fifth set, handing Penn State Altoona a five-set loss.

Penn State Altoona men's volleyball will return home for its final two matches of the regular season, beginning with a match in Adler Arena versus nearby AMCC rival Mount Aloysius College on Tuesday, April 1, at 7 p.m.