Lions Split on Day One of Behrend Invitational

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team defeated Lancaster Bible 3-1 but fell to Thiel 3-1 on the first day of the Behrend Invitational held in the Junker Center on Saturday.

The Lions (12-12) posted a 25-11, 25-15, 23-25 and 25-15 win over the Chargers (12-8). Ty Sheehan hit. 417 and recorded a game-high 14 kills. He also added five digs and two aces. Grant Kocher (McMurray, PA/Peters Township) was the other Behrend player with double-figure kills with 13.

In the opening match, Thiel won the opening game 25-11 before the Lions tied it with a 30-28 victory. The Tomcats won the next two sets 25-19 and 25-20 for their second win over Behrend this season. Nathan Steele (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) led all players with 17 kills. Derek Polishen (Plum, PA/Plum) had a season-best 20 digs in the loss.

Eric Theiss (Plum, PA/Plum) was instrumental in the first game against Lancaster Bible, recording three of his five kills in the match including two in final three points of the set for the win. In the second game, Sheehan's serving broke a 13-all tie and got Behrend a five-point lead at 18-13. Steele tallied two kills and Colin Ingram (Hilliard, OH/Hilliard Darby) served up an ace for a 25-15 victory and a 2-0 lead.

Lancaster Bible was able to take game three by two points, but the Lions took a seven-point lead at 19-12 and cruised to a 25-15 win.

Against Thiel, Behrend took the Tomcats to extra points in the second set to win 30-28 and tie the match at 1-all. Down 15-8, the Lions went on an 11-4 run to take their first lead of the match at 20-19. The rest of the game went point-for-point until Steele and Ty knocked consecutive kills for the win.

Evan Fullerton (McMurray, PA/McMurray) had a combined 42 assists on the day, posting 26 against Thiel. Ingram tallied 36 helpers on the day with 19 coming against the Chargers.

Kevin Smith (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) blocked an attack by Temple for a 27-25 win that provided momentum heading into the fourth set. Tyler Karl (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) recorded seven blocks for two matches.   

The Lions return to action tomorrow against Keuka. Match begins at 2 p.m.