Lions Blank D'Youville

ERIE, Pa.  – The Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team picked up their fourth straight win with a 3-0 decision over D'Youville in United Volleyball Conference (UVC) action on Thursday night in the Junker Center.

The Lions (7-2, 4-1 UVC) earned their fourth shut-out victory, blanking the Spartans (2-7, 0-5 UVC) 25-15, 25-15 and 25-20. Josh Oertly (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) and Nathan Steele (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) both hit the ball well and recorded seven kills apiece.

Antonio Vazquez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/UHS), who came into the match ranked first in the UVC in service aces per set, added two more tonight to go along with eight digs and six kills.

D'Youville's Matt Loos posted 12 kills and six digs, while Alex Johnson collected nine digs.

Behrend posted 33 kills in the 50 points recorded in the first two sets. In the first set, the Lions ran away with the game from the start. Behrend knocked down 16 kills led by Vazquez's four and three other players added three kills for a 25-15 win.

There was a three-point difference in the second set at 12-9, but the Lions finished the set strong and outscored the Spartans 13-6 thanks to three kills by Grant Kocher (McMurray, PA/Peters Township) down the stretch for an identical set-one score of 25-15.

Behrend closed out the game with a 25-20 victory in the third for the sweep. Steele and Eric Theiss (Plum, PA/Plum) posted two kills each in the final set to hold off D'Youville.

The Lions return to action on Wednesday against Medaille. Match begins at 7 p.m.