by Casey Burinskas

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – Penn State Altoona men's volleyball returned to the road Tuesday night, when the Lions suffered a 3-0 loss to No. 6 Messiah University at Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.

Messiah (18-2) defeated the Lions (4-12) in three sets by scores of 25-16, 25-15, and 25-21.

Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) and Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona) tied for the team lead in points with eight apiece. McKenna had eight kills to go along with a team-high six digs, and Fries totaled seven kills and two block assists.

Axel Jimenez (Los Angeles, CA/Malibu) tallied 13 assists for the Lions while adding five digs, and Shawn Thomas (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) recorded five assists.

Andrew Kubiak (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) and Ethan Wooldridge (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson) had two block assists each.

Altoona opened the match with energy, grabbing the first point on a Messiah attack error before Lukas Weathersbee (Altoona, PA/Altoona) added an early kill to keep the Lions within striking distance. After falling behind 10-4 during a Falcon run, Altoona found small sparks of momentum. McKenna added a right-side kill to stop the bleeding on the front lines, while Fries and Weathersbee continued to contribute offensively. A late surge highlighted by back-to-back McKenna kills, along with a strong block from Fries and Wooldridge, helped trim the gap to 24-16. Despite the Lions' best efforts and their late push, Messiah closed out the set, 25-16.

The Lions were more aggressive early in the second frame. Fries delivered multiple kills off Jimenez's assists, and a key block from Travis Johns (Elderton, PA/West Shamokin) and Kubiak evened the score at 5-5. Johns, Weathersbee, and Wooldridge added kills to keep Altoona within three, 12-9, before Messiah used a serving run to create separation. Despite the deficit growing to 17-9, the Lions continued to battle and narrowed the gap to 19-14. The Lions capitalized on some Falcon errors to add late points, but Messiah maintained control to secure the 25-15 decision.

Altoona's strongest showing came in the third set. After falling behind 6-2, the Lions answered with a run sparked by Fries and McKenna. Fries hammered a kill to start the rally, Johns added a point at the net, and McKenna delivered three kills, while the Lions were also helped by several Messiah errors that tied the score at 12-12. McKenna took over offensively during the middle stretch, recording multiple kills from the front line and in transition to keep the Lions within one point. Late in the set, Altoona capitalized on a few more Messiah errors and a strong McKenna swing to cut the deficit to 22-20. Altoona picked up one more point before the finish, but the Falcons closed out the set, 25-21, to end the match with a 3-0 sweep. 

Next, Penn State Altoona men's volleyball returns home for back-to-back Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference matches this weekend. The Lions will host Buffalo State University for a 7 p.m. match on Friday, March 6, before welcoming Hilbert College to campus for a 1 p.m. match on Saturday, March 7.