Behrend Men's Volleyball Advances to AMCC Semifinals; Lions Top Altoona

ALTOONA, Pa. – The No. 5 Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team upset No. 4 Penn State Altoona in the first round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Tournament, posting a 3-1 victory on Tuesday night.

Score: Penn State Behrend 3, Penn State Altoona 1 (22-25, 25-10, 25-19, 25-22)
Records: Penn State Behrend (12-15) Penn State Altoona (15-12)

Key Moments:

* The Behrend Lions avenged a three-set loss to Altoona on Saturday to advance to the AMCC Semifinals
* Behrend won three unanswered sets after falling 25-22 in the first
* Kyle Hoffman (Carlton, PA/Cochranton) posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs
* Daniel Easly (Erie, PA/McDowell) led the match with 16 kills for a .282 attack percentage
* Alex Jackson (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) managed 34 assists on 44 total kills
* Jackson also added five digs, three aces, three blocks and two kills
* Despite holding a 12-10 advantage in the first set, Altoona won the final three points on a kill from Willem Del Priore, a Behrend attack error and a block assist
* The Lions battled back to hold Altoona to just six kills and 10 points overall to even the match
* Behrend registered a .364 attack percentage in the second set and then followed it with a .333 performance in the third to take two-set lead
* In the third set, Jackson's serves helped to keep the Lions out front in the final points with a pair of aces and setting Easly for a kills to make it 24-18
* Behrend won the third set off a service error at 25-19
* The Behrend Lions never trailed in the fourth set, but tied Altoona six times until an Easly kill gave Behrend a 22-21 lead
* A few attack errors and a kill by Lewis Rhodes (Reston, VA/South Lakes) finished the match in favor of the Behrend Lions

Up Next: 

* Behrend heads to St. Vincent for the AMCC Semifinals on Friday. The No. 5 Lions will face the No. 1 seed Bearcats at 4:30 p.m.