ELMIRA, NY – The Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team recorded a crucial United Volleyball Conference (UVC) win with a 3-1 decision over Elmira on Tuesday evening in Speidel Gymnasium.
The Lions (9-11, 1-4 UVC) keep their playoff hopes alive with a 25-19, 25-22, 24-26 and 25-21 victory. Trenton Munk (Baden, PA/Ambridge), who is hitting .382 on the season, keeps turning in near flawless performances with 16 kills on 22 attempts with one error (.682). Dillon Hildebrand (Red Lion, PA/Red) also added 16 kills and Calvin Nowicki (Eden, NY/Eden) registered 34 assists.
The win marks the first ever over the Soaring Eagles (10-18, 1-5 UVC) in program history.
Behrend hit .323 in the first set to take the lead with a six-point victory. Tyler Fiely (Cambridge Springs, PA/Cambridge Springs) and Hildebrand each tallied a kill to break the seventh tie of the first set and take the lead for good at 16-14. A small 6-2 run put the Lions ahead 22-16 and the last offensive points were scored by Munk and Hildebrand to make it 25-19.
Behrend never trailed in the second set, jumping out to a 12-3 lead behind the serving of Tyler Herrmann (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) and Munk. Elmira rallied back and tied the match at 22-all. An exchange of errors left the Lions with set point and a block by Munk sealed the win at 25-22 for a 2-0 lead.
After Behrend took an 8-3 lead in the third, the Soaring Eagles rattled off six straight points to make it 9-8. It was back and forth for the remaining of the set with Elmira coming out on top a 26-24. The Lions had match point and two kills from Mark Kawecki helped keep the Soaring Eagles in it.
Behrend came back from three points down in the fourth to take a 21-20 lead on blocks by Munk and Hildebrand. Two errors and two consecutive kills from Nowicki secured a 25-21 win.
Anthony Sprentz (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley), who set the program's all-time assists record on Saturday, added 17 helpers and four digs.
Munk also tallied seven blocks while Herrmann led with 21 digs and seven kills.
The Lions return to action on Thursday against Nazareth. Match begins at 7 p.m. in the Junker Center.