ELMIRA, NY – It was a bittersweet day for the Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team, falling to No. 7 SUNY New Paltz 3-0 but then bouncing back to defeat No. 12 Vassar 3-1 at the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Crossover hosted by Elmira on Saturday.
The Lions (11-5, 5-4 UVC) fell 25-20, 25-12 and 25-14 to New Paltz St. before handing Vassar a 25-21, 23-25, 25-21 and 25-23 loss in the nightcap.
In the win over Vassar, four players were in double-digit kills and three in double-digit digs. Ty Sheehan (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) did both with 12 kills and 10 digs to lead Behrend. Grant Kocher (McMurray, PA/Peters Township) and Nathan Steele (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) each added 10 kills and Joey Price (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) had a team-best 11 digs. Mitch Farabaugh (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) dished 21 assists and Colin Ingram (Hilliard, OH/Hilliard Darby) added 17 assists.
Vassar got a game-high 28 kills from Reno Kriz and 54 assists for Colin White-Dzuro.
The Lions trailed by one point at 16-15 and won the next two points on an error to take lead for good. Kills by Sheehan and Steele combined with two attack errors gave Behrend a 25-21 win in set one.
The second set was neck-and-neck with Vassar. With the score in Vassar's favor at 17-15, the Lions used a 7-2 run to take a 22-19 lead. The game was tied at 23-all thanks to a kill from Sheehan but Vassar won the next two points on errors to tie the match at 1-all.
The third set was very similar to the first. Behrend pulled away the end with a kill from Sheehan to give the Lions a 24-21 lead before winning the final point on a Vassar attack error.
In a match with two good teams, a fight to the end is expected. Vassar did not let up hoping to get the fifth decisive set. The Lions never trailed in the set and held off Vassar with two kills from Steele for a two-point victory for the match.
In the first match of the day, New Paltz held a 43-20 advantage in kills to sweep Behrend in three. Kocher and Steele tallied five kills apiece and Josh Oertly (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) added four kills.
The Lions return to action tomorrow against against MIT. Match starts at 1 p.m.
