ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team took a pair of losses on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions faced non-conference opponents Grove City College and Hiram College during the second and final day of this weekend's AMCC/PAC Crossover, hosted by Penn State Behrend in its Junker Center.

Penn State Altoona (1-5) suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Grove City to start the day, then lost 3-2 to Hiram in the second match.

Match One: Grove City 3, Penn State Altoona 0

The Lions' day started with a three-set loss to Grove City (4-4), as the Wolverines took care of Penn State Altoona by scores of 25-21, 25-19, and 25-17.

The Lions' Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona) led all players in the match with 12.5 points on 10 kills, two service aces, and one block assist while adding six digs. Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) chipped in 6.5 points on six kills and a block assist, and Lukas Weathersbee (Altoona, PA/Altoona) scored six points on five kills and an ace.

Axel Jimenez (Los Angeles, CA/Malibu) recorded 11 assists, with Charles Tygielski (Irwin, PA/Norwin) dishing out seven assists.

Adam Chan (Framingham, MA/Framingham) led the team in digs with 10, and Michael Hansen (Palatine, IL/William Fremd) and Jason Velez (Forest Hill, MD/Bel Air) added to the defensive effort by each registering one solo block and one block assist.

Grove City stormed out to a 7-0 lead to begin the first set, but Penn State Altoona awoke and whittled away at its deficit. Two aces by Fries and two kills from Weathersbee helped the Lions close the gap to three, 9-6, before kills from Tygielski, McKenna, and Fletcher Fisher (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) helped Penn State Altoona trim the Wolverines' lead to just one, 13-12. Shortly thereafter, a Weathersbee kill evened the score at 16-16, and his kill kept things even at 18-18. But Grove City swung the momentum back into its corner with a 4-0 run, and the Wolverines took the first set by a margin of 25-21.

Penn State Altoona scored the first three points of the second set, getting kills from McKenna and Fries and a Grove City attack error. A solo block from Velez and a kill by Weathersbee helped the Lions maintain a slim advantage, 7-6, but the Wolverines embarked on a 7-1 run to grab their first lead of the set, 13-8. Penn State Altoona got back to within one point on a Joshua Harclerode (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) service ace that made it 17-16, and a McKenna kill kept his team within one, 20-19. But Grove City proceeded to score the next five points in a row, ending the second set at 25-19 and taking a 2-0 match lead into the third.

The early portion of the third set was tightly contested, with Penn State Altoona getting kills from Hansen, McKenna, Tygielski, and Fries to stay within one point, 7-6, of an early Grove City lead. But the Wolverines steadily increased their advantage after that, going on to lead by as many as 10 points, 24-14. After that, the Lions stayed alive with three straight points, including a solo block from Hansen, but Grove City got a kill to clinch the match sweep with a 25-17 victory in the third.

Match Two: Hiram 3, Penn State Altoona 2

The Lions started their second match with a 25-19 win in the first set, before Hiram (2-1) answered by taking the next two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-13. Penn State Altoona countered with a 26-24 victory in the fourth, but the Terriers pulled out a 15-13 decision in the fifth set to deal the Lions their second loss of the afternoon.

McKenna posted a team-best 13 points for Penn State Altoona on 11 kills and two service aces, and he also tallied a team-high 11 digs. Hansen contributed 10 points on six kills, two aces, two block assists, and one solo block.

Kevin Montagna (Lansdale, PA/Lansdale Catholic) finished with seven points on six kills and an ace. Andrew Kubiak (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) and Fries earned 6.5 points each, with Kubiak providing five kills, one ace, and one block assist and Fries having six kills and a block assist. Fisher brought six points on six kills.

Tygielski led the Lions in assists with 13 to go along with seven digs, three kills, and an ace, and Jimenez recorded 11 assists.

Joshua Diefenderfer (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) posted eight digs, and Chan totaled five digs.

Penn State Altoona started the first set on a strong note, built a big lead, and then held on to win. The Lions staked out a 5-0 lead while getting kills from McKenna and Fries, an ace from McKenna, and a block by Hansen and Fries. Service aces from Hansen and Kubiak, plus kills from McKenna, Brody Cocca (Chalfont, PA/Central Bucks South), Kubiak, Tygielski, and Fries upped Penn State Altoona's lead to 15-5. Hiram stormed back to lower its deficit to four points, 22-18, but the Lions successfully held on to win the opening set 25-19, thanks to a trio of errors by the Terriers.

Hiram worked its way out to a 12-7 lead in the second set, but Penn State Altoona surged back to claim the lead. Kills from McKenna, Kubiak, and Diefenderfer highlighted an 11-5 run for the Lions that put them in front, 18-17. However, the Terriers responded with three straight points after that and never trailed again, finishing the set on an 8-3 run to win it 25-21.

The third set score was close early, as Hiram held an 8-7 advantage through the first 15 points. But the Terriers outscored Penn State Altoona 17-6 the rest of the way to take the set by a comfortable margin. Fries contributed three kills over the latter stages of the set, but Hiram secured a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-13 victory in the third.

Penn State Altoona bounced back to start the fourth, scoring the first four points on a Hiram attack error, kills from McKenna and Montagna, and a Shawn Thomas (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) service ace. But Hiram came back to keep things close, and the teams battled evenly for the remainder of the set. After the Lions held an 18-17 advantage, the Terriers used a 5-0 run to jump ahead, and Hiram found itself at set point, 24-21, soon after. But Penn State Altoona powered back to win, as two Montagna kills, two Hiram attack errors, and a set-clinching solo block from Hansen tied the match score at 2-2 after a 26-24 victory by the Lions.

Penn State Altoona scored three of the first five points in the fifth set, as a Hiram service ace and kills from Hansen and Fisher helped the Lions to a 3-2 advantage. But the Terriers seized the lead with a 5-0 run and later found themselves ahead by the same margin, 13-9. Penn State Altoona rattled off four straight points after that, tying the score at 13-13 with a Hansen kill, two Hiram attack errors, and a McKenna ace. But the Lions followed with two costly hitting errors, helping Hiram wrap up the fifth set, 15-13, and take the match.

Penn State Altoona men's volleyball is back on the road for its next match, as the Lions travel to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, February 3 to face off against non-conference opponent Chatham University. The start time for that match is set for 7 p.m.