Men's Volleyball Downs Illinois Tech

ERIE, Pa. – Trenton Munk (Baden, PA/Ambridge) had a .556 attack percentage with 11 kills on 18 attempts to lead the Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team past Illinois Tech 3-0 in non-conference action on Friday night.

The Lions (2-4) tallied their second win in front of a home crowd, defeating the Scarlet Hawks (0-9) 25-22, 25-10 and 26-24.

Munk also led with six blocks on the night, while Josh Oertly (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) added five blocks, six kills and three aces. Anthony Sprentz (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) recorded 19 assists in the win.

Illinois Tech's Alex Babusci led with 10 kills, four digs and two aces. 

In the first set, Behrend used a 10-4 run to take a 19-11 lead behind three kills from Tyler Herrmann (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) and an ace from Eric Theiss (Plum, PA/Plum). The Scarlet Hawks fought back to get within one at 20-19. Joey Reynolds (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) and Theiss each tallied a kill combined with two errors from Illinois Tech to win 25-22.

The Lions held the Scarlet Hawks to just four points by the time they reached 19 for a commanding lead. Behrend gave up just four more points and Munk recorded the final point with a kill to post a 25-10 victory and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Oertly registered five of his six kills in the third set to lead the Lions in extra points. Behrend trailed once midway through the tight set. Neither team led by more than two points until near the end. The Lions held a four-point lead at 23-19 after a Munk kill, but Illinois Tech knotted the game at 24-all thanks to a 5-1 run.

Oertly knotched his final kill to make it 25-24 and then the last point was won on a ball handling error at 26-24.

Herrmann finished with a team-best seven digs, six kills and three blocks.

Behrend returns to action on Wednesday against D'Youville. Match time is 7 p.m.