Lions Win 3-2 Nailbiter Against Hawks
ALTOONA, Pa. - The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team continued their three-game homestand Saturday afternoon as they defeated the Hilbert Hawks 3-2 in a five-set thriller at Adler Arena.
Hilbert (3-16, 1-5 AMCC) took the first set 25-17 before Penn State Altoona (5-13, 3-2 AMCC) won the second set with a 25-17 decision in their favor. The Lions won the third set 25-18, but the Hawks stormed back in the fourth set, winning 25-19 to force the fifth set. The Lions came up big in the fifth set, winning 15-9 to get their third Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference victory.
In the win, Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona) had 22 kills, tying for the eighth most kills in a match in program history.
Penn State Altoona got a team-high 25 points from Fries, as well as 15 points each from Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) and Lukas Weathersbee (Altoona, PA/Altoona). Along with his 22 kills, Fries recorded two service aces and two block assists. McKenna had 10 kills, four service aces, one solo block, and a team-high 15 digs. Weathersbee had 13 kills and two service aces.
Axel Jimenez (Los Angeles, CA/Malibu) tallied a team-high 31 assists, while chipping in eight digs. Shawn Thomas (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) recorded 14 assists and three digs.
Hilbert took control of the game early on, jumping to a 7-3 lead after some kills, service aces, and errors by Penn State Altoona. The Lions got themselves back into the game and closed the gap to two points following kills by Weathersbee, McKenna, and Fries. The Lions had offensive sparks throughout the first set, but the Hawks held on to win the first set 25-17.
After an early Hawks lead in set two, the Lions took control, holding the Hawks to only two points while scoring ten points of their own through kills by McKenna and Travis Johns (Elderton, PA/West Shamokin), service aces by Jimenez, and errors by Hilbert. The Hawks cut the lead to seven points following a kill, but a block from McKenna ended their chances of making a comeback as the Lions clinched the second set 25-17.
The Lions began the third set looking to win, going on a 5-0 run with kills from Andrew Kubiak (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) and Weathersbee, a service ace from McKenna, and errors from Hilbert. The Hawks got back into the game capitalizing on kills from their team and errors by the Lions. Penn State Altoona did not panic though, with Thomas creating kills for Weathersbee, Johns, McKenna, and Fries. These kills as well as two service aces helped the Lions take set three 25-18.
The tables turned in the fourth set as Hilbert jumped out to a 5-1 lead. The attacking lines for the Lions tried to cut the gap, getting to within three points after a kill by Fries. However, the Hawks remained slightly ahead, as they held their lead to win set four 25-19 and equalized the game at 2-2.
Penn State Altoona opened the fifth set looking to close the match with a win in their favor. The Lions put up six points early with Hilbert committing two errors, Weathersbee and Fries having kills, and Fries having a service ace. The Hawks closed the gap, but the Lions kept pushing with Fries having the crucial kill that ended the fifth set 15-9 in favor of the Lions.
Penn State Altoona men's volleyball will take a short break before returning to action Friday, March 20, for their final home match of the regular season. They will play AMCC opponent Houghton in a 5 p.m. match.
