Lions Drop Home Opener to Behrend
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team had its 2026 home opener and first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference match of the season on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions were swept 3-0 by visiting league opponent Penn State Behrend in the Adler Arena.
Behrend (7-2, 2-0 AMCC) pulled out a 33-31 victory in a marathon opening set before handing Penn State Altoona (2-8, 0-1 AMCC) losses of 25-16 and 25-15 in the subsequent sets.
Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona) had a team-best 15 points for the Lions on 11 kills, two service aces, and two solo blocks. Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) had seven points on six kills and a solo block, and Lukas Weathersbee (Altoona, PA/Altoona) chipped in five points on five kills.
Axel Jimenez (Los Angeles, CA/Malibu) led his team in assists with 11, and Travis Johns (Elderton, PA/West Shamokin) contributed eight assists.
In digs, Fries led Penn State Altoona with 10 while McKenna and Jimenez finished with nine and seven, respectively.
The day began with a first set that saw the two teams trade blow for blow throughout, resulting in multiple ties and set scores that pushed past 30 points. A Fries kill and two Behrend attack errors helped Penn State Altoona to a 3-2 lead, and two more Fries kills and an Ethan Wooldridge (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson) point helped the home squad to a 9-8 advantage. Later, a Jason Velez (Forest Hill, MD/Bel Air) kill knotted the score at 12-12, and back-to-back kills from Fries and McKenna made it 16-16. After that, Behrend used a 5-1 run to take the biggest lead of the set by either team, 21-17. But Penn State Altoona came back with a 5-1 run of its own, helped by kills from Fries and Velez and a Fries solo block, to even the score, 22-22. The Lions got to set point four different times over the next several plays, as a Fries ace made it 24-23, a Fries kill put the score at 26-25, a McKenna solo block got it to 28-27, and a Behrend hitting error set it at 30-29. But the visitors responded each time, and after another Fries kill tied the score at 31-31, Behrend got two points in a row to close the set at 33-31.
Penn State Altoona matched Behrend point for point early in the second set, before the visiting team began to pull away in the middle stages. Kills from Fries, McKenna, and Weathersbee, along with a Fries block, helped the Lions keep pace with Behrend, 7-7, in the early going. But Behrend embarked on a 13-3 run to break the set open and grab a commanding 20-10 advantage. Penn State Altoona found some traction late in the set and picked up six points, including a Wooldridge stuff and a Shawn Thomas (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) kill. But Behrend won the set by a comfortable 25-16 margin to secure a 2-0 match lead.
The Lions worked their way out to a modest lead in the third set. A service ace from Jimenez and a Weathersbee kill put Penn State Altoona up 3-1, before Weathersbee and Fries each delivered a kill to make it 5-2. Fries served an ace to give his team a 7-5 lead, and another Weathersbee point made it 8-7. But Behrend surged in front on a 9-3 run, staking out a 16-11 lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the way. Penn State Altoona got back to within three, 17-14, thanks to another Fries kill and a pair of Behrend errors. But the visitors ended the set on an 8-1 run, winning it 25-15 to clinch a sweep over the Lions.
Penn State Altoona men's volleyball remains at home for its next match, as the Lions host AMCC opponent Carlow University on Tuesday, February 17 at 7 p.m.
