Men's Volleybal Sweeps Cazenovia

ERIE, Pa.  – The Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team hit a season-best .440 and only gave up 24 set points in a 3-0 win over Cazenovia in non-conference action on Saturday night.

The Lions (3-1) defeated the Wildcats 25-6, 25-9 and 25-9, holding them to just four kills in three sets for their second straight win. Eric Theiss (Plum, PA/Plum) led Behrend with nine kills (.571 hitting percentage) and three aces, while Antonio Vazquez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/UHS) tallied eight kills and four aces.

Freshmen Zach Miller (Plum, PA/Plum) and Mitch Farabaugh (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) combined for 35 assists. Miller posted 20 assists, four digs and two aces in the win, and Farabaugh finished with 15 assists.

Behrend registered the program's second-highest total for aces in a match with 13 and 11 came in the first set. Vazquez served up four straight aces to give the Lions a 5-1 lead. Theiss added three, Miller recorded two and Farabaugh got the last one of the match to make it 24-6 before serving the final point on a Cazenovia error.

In the second set, the Lions did not allow one kills by the Wildcats while Kevin Smith (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) tallied five kills and Vazquez added nine for a 25-9 win. The Lions jumped out to a 10-4 lead before Cazenovia called its first time out. From there, Behrend went on a 15-5 to take a 2-0 edge in the match.

The third set mimicked the second with an identical score. Matthew Shepherd (Pittsburgh, PA/Plum) knocked down four kills and Josh Oertly (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) earned three out of the team's 15 total in the set.

The Lions return to action next Saturday at the UVC Crossover hosted by MIT. Behrend will face Stevens in the opening match at 11 a.m.