Four Lions Garner AMCC Weekly Honors
Four Penn State Behrend student-athletes were named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Athletes of the Week for the period running from February 10-16.
ERIE, Pa. – Four Penn State Behrend student-athletes were named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Athletes of the Week for the period running from February 10-16.
Senior men's basketball guard Tommy DiRienzo ( Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) averaged 21.5 points on 59.3 percent shooting from the field and 5.5 rebounds in a pair of key road victories for the Behrend men's basketball team. He became the program's all-time leading scorer with a game-high 30 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds at Hilbert on Wednesday. DiRienzo surpassed Russ Conley's (2009-13) 1,771 career points. On Saturday, he chipped in 13 points and five rebounds against Pitt-Bradford, giving the Panthers their first conference loss on the season.
Junior guard Morgan Altavilla (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) led the women's basketball team to a pair of AMCC wins that helped Behrend secure the AMCC Regular-Season Championship and secure the No. 1 seed for the upcoming playoffs. She averaged 19.5 points, 6.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.0 steals. Altavilla scored 19 vs. Hilbert and tied a career-high nine assists, before adding 20 points at Pitt-Bradford. She also shot 51.6 percent on the week.
Men's volleyball junior Kyle Hoffman (Carlton, PA/Cochranton) earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after recording double-digit kills in a 2-1 week for the Lions. He posted a .316 attack percentage and averaged 3.42 kills per set to go along with 1.33 digs per set. Hoffman led with 15 kills vs. Mt. Aloysius on Sunday in the AMCC match and then added 11 in the non-conference match vs. the Mounties. He also added three aces, three assists and four blocks.
Fellow junior Lewis Rhodes (Reston, VA/South Lakes) notched Defensive Player of the Week, averaging 1.17 blocks per set. Rhodes also tallied 10 block assists and four solo, while adding 11 kills and six digs.
The Behrend basketball teams play their regular-season finales this Wednesday against Alfred State at 7 p.m., while the men's volleyball team hosts a tri-match on Sunday beginning at 11 a.m.