Altoona Edges Men's Volleyball

ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team posted a four-set victory over Penn State Behrend in non-conference action on Saturday at Alder Arena.

Altoona (10-10) took control of the first set 25-17, before the Lions (9-9) responded with a 25-17 win of their own to make it 1-all. The Altoona Lions regained the lead with a 25-12 third set and then edged out Behrend 28-26.

Tyler Herrmann (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) led with 14 kills and a .344 hitting percentage to go along with nine digs, four blocks and two assists. Anthony Sprentz (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) dished out 39 assists on 48 kills.

Down two in the first set (15-13), Altoona went on a 6-1 run to take the lead for good at 19-16. Another 6-0 spurt down the stretch with kills from Brandon Arentz and Dan Downs got the Altoona Lions a 1-0 lead in the match at 25-17.

The Lions never trailed in the second set to even the match. The five-point lead at the beginning (6-1) grew to an eight-point advantage by the end. Dillon Hildebrand (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) had four kills and an ace for Behrend. The Lions won on an Altoona service error, 25-17.

Altoona used a 7-0 stretch in the middle of the third set to take a double-digit lead and hold on for a commanding 25-12 win.

In a tightly contested fourth set, the Lions were able to keep a small lead until the final two points on a kill from Brian Sheddy and an attack error got Altoona the win at 28-26.

Joey Reynolds (Saegertown, PA/Cambridge Springs) had a team-best six blocks with four kills and four digs. Hildebrand finished with 11 kills and eight digs.

Behrend returns to action on Saturday against Siena Heights and Thiel in a tri-match, beginning at 11 a.m.