The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team is feeling upbeat going into the 2026 season with a solid returning core and an exciting group of newcomers.

Last season, a young Lions roster went 14-13 overall and 4-2 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, placing second in regular season standings. Heading into this year's schedule, Penn State Altoona was voted third in the AMCC Preseason Coaches' Poll, with coaches predicting the Lions to be one of the top teams in the conference.

Head coach Bob Kasun, who is entering his fourth season at the helm of the program, recognizes the quality of teams in the AMCC.

"We are very upbeat about this season. Our goals always start with winning the AMCC Championship, but we realize that's a very tall task. Buffalo State, Penn State Behrend, and Hilbert have really good teams, and Mount Aloysius, Carlow and Houghton will be very competitive," said Kasun. 

On the court, the Lions return first-team all-conference selection, 2025 league Newcomer of the Year, and 2026 AMCC Preseason Player of the Year sophomore opposite hitter Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona), as well as second-team all-conference selection sophomore libero Adam Chan (Framingham, MA/Framingham). Last season, Fries ranked first in several categories in the AMCC, including points (418.5), kills (333), service aces (52), and service aces per set (0.53), while Chan ranked second in digs (219) and fifth in digs per set (2.19).

Other returning starters include sophomore outside hitter Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) and sophomore middle hitter Michael Hansen (Palatine, IL/William Fremd). McKenna returns to the court coming off a freshman performance where he ranked 10th in the conference in kills (180) and points (210.5), as well as ninth in digs (163), and Hansen was fourth in the AMCC in hitting percentage (.271), sixth in block assists (48) and total blocks per set (0.69), and seventh in total blocks (59).

"Our optimism for this season starts with preseason player of the year Caleb Fries," said Kasun. "But we have a strong core of starters returning in all-conference libero Chan, McKenna, and Hansen."

There are several other returning players this season, consisting of Jason Velez (Forest Hill, MD/Bel Air), Brody Cocca (Chalfont, PA/Central Bucks South), Joshua Harclerode (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth), Joshua Diefenderfer (Malvern, PA/Great Valley), Fletcher Fisher (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin), Shawn Thomas (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright), and Axel Jimenez (Los Angeles, CA/Malibu), all of whom Kasun believes will step up this season.  

"We have returning players who are ready to step into a more prominent role like Velez, Cocca, Harclerode, Diefenderfer, Fisher, Thomas, and Jimenez," he said.

Kasun is excited about incoming freshmen Ethan Wooldridge (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson), Kevin Montagna (Lansdale, PA/Lansdale Catholic), Andrew Kubiak (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora), Lukas Weathersbee (Altoona, PA/Altoona), Travis Johns (Elderton, PA/West Shamokin), Charlie Tygielski (Irwin, PA/Norwin), and transfer James Cooper (Berwyn, PA/Conestoga).  

"We are very excited about our first-year players in Wooldridge, Montagna, Kubiak, Weathersbee, Johns, Tygielski along with transfer student Cooper," Kasun stated.

Penn State Altoona opens the season with a road trip to Washington, D.C. to play Gallaudet University and the University of Lynchburg in a tri-match on Friday, January 23 starting at 3 p.m. The Lions proceed to face a tricky schedule this year that includes strong non-conference opponents such as Roanoke, Saint Vincent, and Messiah, along with AMCC opponents Buffalo State and Penn State Behrend.

The team's full schedule can be viewed at: psaltoonalions.com.