ERIE, Pa. – Dillon Hildebrand (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) and Tyler Herrmann (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) each recorded 15 kill to lead Penn State Behrend past Thiel 3-2 in non-conference men's volleyball action on Tuesday night.
The Lions (7-10) handed the Tomcats (5-11) their fifth five-set loss of the season with a 25-17, 23-25, 25-15, 14-25, 15-13 victory. Trenton Munk (Baden, PA/Ambridge) was also in double-digit kills with 10 and added five blocks along with Cody Geis (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley).
Jacob DeRue registered a game-high 17 kills for Thiel and Zach Romback had 49 assists.
There were two close sets in the five set match, the second and the fifth. Behrend hit a match-best .476 in the first set and got six kills from Munk for the early lead. The Lions went on a 12-5 run to go ahead 19-10 and stay out front for a 25-17 decision, ending on a Munk kill.
In the second, Behrend erased a five-point deficit at 20-15 to knot the game at 23-all after a kill from Herrmann. The Tomcats used a kill from Regan Hess to get set point and then he made a block to even the match at 1-all with a narrow 25-23 win.
A quick 9-2 start forced the early Thiel timeout, but the Lions remained in control for the third set. Behrend took a double-digit lead at 20-10 on a kill from Munk and kept it that way until the end for an easy 25-15 victory.
The Tomcats did not let the Lions get comfortable and returned the favor in the fourth set, knocking in a match-best 13 kills and hitting .345. Thiel held Behrend to just six kills and forced nine errors, including two in the final three points and then sending the match into a fifth set with a service ace to end 25-14.
After the Tomcats took a 2-1 lead, Herrmann put the Lions ahead for good with back-to-back kills at 3-2. Thiel used a 5-2 spurt to make it 9-8, however Behrend got to match point on three occasions and finished with a Munk kill for the win.
Calvin Nowicki (Eden, NY/Eden) posted 25 assists and Anthony Sprentz (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) recorded 23 assists.
The Lions return to action on Saturday at Sage for a tri-match with Hunter, beginning at 2 p.m.