GENEVA, NY – The Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to begin the 2024 season, falling to Hobart and St. Norbert at the Statesmen Tournament held on Friday night.
Match One:
Score: Hobart 3, Penn State Behrend 0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-22)
Records: Penn State Behrend (0-1), Hobart (3-1)
Key Moments:
* The Lions were apart of Hobart history being their first home match in their inaugural season
* Daniel Easly (Erie, PA/McDowell) led with seven kills to go with three digs
* Alex Jackson (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) dished out 23 assists, while Josh Elegeer (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) paced the team with six digs
* In the first set, Hobart had set point at 24-16 and the Lions won the next four points behind two kills from Owen Wienczkowski (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBeouf) and a service ace from Kyle Hoffman (Carlton, PA/Cochranton)
* The second set was tied 10-all until the Statesmen used a 5-0 run to take the lead for good to win 25-18 for a two-set advantage
* Behrend got within one on seven occasions in the final set, including the last time at 16-15
* After a Hobart service error, making it 24-22, the Statesmen capitalized on a Lions service error for the three-set win
* Behrend registered double-digit kills in the first set with 13
Match Two:
Score: St. Norbert 3, Penn State Behrend 0 (27-25, 25-16, 25-16)
Records: Penn State Behrend (0-2), St. Norbert (2-0)
Key Moments:
* St. Norbert held a 39-28 edge in kills and 28-17 advantage in digs
* There was 12 ties in the first set that went into extra points
* Faced with match point, St. Norbert had a service error to make it 25-all
* The Green Knights registered back-to-back kills to take a 1-0 lead after a 27-25 win
* St. Norbert posted identical scores in the final two sets (25-16) for its second win of the season
* Wienczkowski led with eight kills and two block assists
* Jackson handed out 14 assists, while Caden Mealy (Meadville, PA/Meadville) tallied 10 assists
* Easly added six kills for a total of 13 on the day, while Logan Hering (North East, PA/North East) contributed five kills, two digs and a solo block
Up Next:
* The Behrend Lions return to action tomorrow against Kean at Hobert. Match begins at 12 p.m.
