Lions Fall to No. 4 Stevens, MIT in UVC Tri-Match

HOBOKEN, NJ – The Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team suffered a pair of 3-0 losses to No. 4 Stevens and MIT in United Volleyball Conference (UVC) action on Saturday afternoon at Canavan Arena.

The fourth-ranked Ducks (27-5, 6-2 UVC) defeated the Lions (7-18, 1-7 UVC) 25-19, 25-17 and 25-22. Trenton Munk (Baden, PA/Ambridge) led with 12 kills and three blocks. Anthony Sprentz (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) added 28 assists and five digs.

In the nightcap, the Engineers (21-7, 4-4 UVC) pulled out a 25-15, 25-21 and 25-21 three-set win. Munk and Eric Theiss (Plum, PA/Plum) each recorded nine kills, while Sprentz dished out 27 assists to finish with 55 helpers on the day.

Against Stevens in the first set, Behrend started out on top and pushed the lead to 15-11 off a Munk kill and then a Josh Oertly (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) and Tyler Fiely (Cambridge Springs, PA/Cambridge Springs) block.

After the Ducks took a timeout, they won the next four points to tie it at 15-all. The set was tied three more times, before Stevens broke an 18-all tie with five consecutive points behind two kills from Tim Ferriter for a 23-18 advantage. Ferriter got another kill and then served an ace for a 25-19 win.

The same beginning in the first set applied to the second with the Lions jumping ahead 13-10. A 7-0 run by the Ducks gave them the lead that would not relinquish and eventually winning on two attack errors by Behrend.

The Lions had their largest lead over Stevens in the third set at 20-14. In a must-win set, Behrend grabbed the six-point edge and put themselves five points away from a fourth set. The Ducks scored seven unanswered points for a 21-20 lead. A Ferriter kill gave Stevens match point then won it for the Ducks with his final kill at 25-22.

In the second match, MIT expanded on its 12-10 lead with a 6-0 run for an eight-point advantage. The engineers only allowed five more points and used three straight kills at the end to win 25-15.

MIT won by identical scores in the second and third set. Just when the Lions got close in the second at 14-13, the engineers had a 5-0 spurt that stretched the lead to 19-13. Behrend returned the favor with five straight points, but MIT held off the Lions for a 25-21 victory.

The Lions and MIT were tied at 15-all in the third set, before two kills, an ace and an error gave the engineers a four-point lead. Behrend got within two points on three occasions from there. Yize Dong's kill and then ace secured the match for MIT at 25-21.

The Lions finish their season at Hilbert on Tuesday. Match begins at 7 p.m.