LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team wrapped up its weekend road trip at Randolph College on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions faced non-conference opponents Roanoke College and Randolph in a tri-match at the Frances and Don Giles Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona (3-11) suffered a 3-1 loss to Roanoke in its first match of the day before losing to Randolph in a 3-0 sweep after that.

Match One: Roanoke 3, Penn State Altoona 1

The Maroons (8-3) and Lions found themselves at a 1-1 split through two sets, as Roanoke won the first by a score of 25-22 and Penn State Altoona got on the board with a 25-20 victory in the second. But Roanoke pulled out a 26-24 win in the third, then took the match with a 25-20 triumph in the fourth.

Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona) had a match-high 21 points for Penn State Altoona, finishing with 14 kills, six service aces, and two block assists. Fries' total of six aces ties for the third-most in a match in team history.

Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) recorded 12.5 points on nine kills, three aces, and a block assist, and Lukas Weathersbee (Altoona, PA/Altoona) had 10.5 points on 10 kills and a block assist. McKenna and Weathersbee also tallied eight digs apiece.

Axel Jimenez (Los Angeles, CA/Malibu) put up a team-high 19 assists, while Shawn Thomas (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) added eight assists.

Adam Chan (Framingham, MA/Framingham) had a match-high 10 digs, and Ethan Wooldridge (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson) notched four block assists.

Trailing 12-9 in the first set, Penn State Altoona maneuvered into the lead by outscoring Roanoke 9-3. Kills by Fries, Travis Johns (Elderton, PA/West Shamokin), Weathersbee, and McKenna, along with aces from Fries and Jimenez, propelled the Lions to an 18-15 advantage. Kills from McKenna, Fries, and Weathersbee helped Penn State Altoona maintain a slim 22-21 lead later in the set, but Roanoke responded with a 4-0 run to win the first set 25-22.

The Lions staked out a nine-point lead, 11-2, to begin the second set. Two McKenna aces and a duo block by Fries and Wooldridge helped Penn State Altoona jump out to a 5-0 advantage, while two Fries aces and a Johns kill helped make it 11-2. Later, a 4-0 Lions run that consisted of kills from Andrew Kubiak (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) and Joshua Harclerode (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth), along with a combo block from Kubiak and Johns and a service ace from Fries, put Penn State Altoona's lead at 20-12. Penn State Altoona held its lead the rest of the way and clinched a 25-20 set win on a Fries kill.

Wooldridge and McKenna teamed up on a block to start the third set, and a McKenna kill gave Penn State Altoona a 2-1 lead. But Roanoke scored the next two points to leap in front, and the Maroons never relinquished their lead for the rest of the set. Facing set point, 24-22, late in the set, the Lions stayed alive with kills from Johns and McKenna that knotted the score. But a pair of Penn State Altoona errors gave Roanoke the third set, 26-24, and the match lead.

Penn State Altoona held a 7-6 advantage early in the fourth set, as points from Weathersbee and Wooldridge paired with Roanoke errors. The Maroons claimed the lead after that and never let it go, despite Penn State Altoona keeping things close throughout the remainder of the set. The Lions got kills from Weathersbee, Johns, Fries, and Wooldridge in the latter stages of the set, but Roanoke ultimately prevailed 25-20 to win the match in four.

Match Two: Randolph 3, Penn State Altoona 0

Randolph (7-6) took care of Penn State Altoona in three sets by scores of 25-20, 25-15, and 25-14.

Fries and Harclerode tied for the team lead in points, scoring seven apiece for the Lions. Fries had seven kills, and Harclerode recorded six kills and a solo block while also leading Penn State Altoona in digs with 10.

Jimenez led the way in assists with nine to go along with two service aces and a kill.

Randolph led for the entirety of the first set, building its lead as high as eight points, 23-15. The Lions got late kills from Fries and Wooldridge, along with a McKenna service ace, to close the gap to 24-20. But the Wildcats scored the next point to close the set at 25-20.

The home team rode its momentum into the second set, when it scored six of the first seven points en route to a 15-7 lead midway through. Kills from Johns, Harclerode, and Fries, as well as a Joshua Diefenderfer (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) ace, helped Penn State Altoona close the gap to four, 17-13. But Randolph did not allow the Lions to get any closer after that, as the Wildcats finished with a 25-15 victory in the second set.

Penn State Altoona started the third set on a strong note, as a kill and ace from McKenna helped push the Lions to a 5-2 lead. But Randolph countered with a 7-0 run to nab a 9-5 lead, and the Wildcats never looked back. Two Randolph errors and a Harclerode kill kept the Lions within two, 10-8, but the home squad broke things open with a 9-1 run that increased its lead to 19-9. Late in the set, Penn State Altoona got an ace from Jimenez and a kill from Weathersbee, but the Lions fell 25-14 as Randolph iced the sweep.

Next up, Penn State Altoona men's volleyball returns home to resume its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule. The Lions will host nearby league opponent Mount Aloysius College on Wednesday, February 25, at 7 p.m.