Men's Volleyball Comes Back to Defeat D'Youville

BUFFALO, NY – The Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team rallied back from a two-set deficit to defeat D'Youville 3-2 in United Volleyball Conference (UVC) action on Wednesday night.

In a match that could affect playoffs down the road, the Lions (4-6, 2-3 UVC) fought like their lives were on the line and won 21-25, 23-25, 27-25, 25-14 and 15-13.

Grant Kocher (McMurray, PA/Peters Township) and Evan Fullerton (McMurray, PA/McMurray) each had a double-double for Behrend. Kocher had 17 kills and 13 digs, while Fullerton dished out 38 assists and had a game-high 17 digs.

The Spartans (7-4, 2-3 UVC) got 18 kills and 10 digs from Chris Temple, and Jay Senozetnik earned 47 assists on 58 kills.

The Lions fell short in the first two sets but showed perseverance in the third set, sparking the come-back victory. With D'Youville holding a small 20-19 edge, the teams kept the rest of the third set within one point of each other until the final two points. Nathan Steele (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) registered a kill thanks to Fullerton's feed, and Kocher and Kevin Smith (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) blocked an attack by Temple for a 27-25 win that provided momentum heading into the fourth set.

After a thrilling third-set victory, the Lions convincingly forced a fifth set with a 25-14 win in the fourth thanks to a 13-4 run to finish.

The largest lead by either team was two points to go with eight ties in just a 15-point decisive fifth set. Even though the Spartans tied the set at 13-all, Behrend was the only team faced with match point after a Kocher kill. The Lions got their final point on an attack error by D'Youville to make this a match to be remembered.

Steele led the team with 19 kills. Tyler Karl (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) tallied nine kills and six blocks.  

The Lions return to action on Saturday against Cazenovia in the Junker Center. Match begins at 7 p.m.