Behrend Sweeps Penn State Altoona

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's volleyball hit .367 as a team fueled by Nathan Steele (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) who had 10 kills on 13 attempts with just one error to breeze past Penn State Altoona 3-0 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on Saturday night in the Junker Center.

The win marks the second time the Lions (2-5) have swept Altoona (1-6) this season. Behrend registered the victory with scores of 25-12, 25-14 and 26-24. Grant Kocher (McMurray, PA/Peters Township) finished with nine kills and six digs, while three players tied with five kills.

Josh Settle led Altoona with 11 kills and Branden McGarvey posted 20 assists on 24 team kills.

Ty Sheehan (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) each had four kills to help the Lions get the quick first-set win. With a four-point lead at 13-9, Behrend used an 8-0 run behind two aces from Kocher and a kill from Kevin Smith (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin), Sheehan and Steele. Sheehan added two more kills and Steele had his only ace of the match for a 25-12 victory.

The Lions dominated the second set much like the first. This time, Behrend pulled ahead with a 10-point advantage at 16-6 off an Evan Fullerton (Ambridge, PA/Ambridge) ace. From there, each team went point-for-point until the Lions reached 25. Steele had four kills and Josh Oertly (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) registered three kills on four attacks.

Altoona finally saw a lead in the third set by as many as five down at 22-17. Four attack errors by Altoona and a pair of kills for Kocher halted the match from going into four sets. At 24-all, Kocher put away the kills, while Steele and Tyler Karl (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) blocked Titus Fernando for the final point and the match.

Fullerton led with 23 assists and four digs. Smith finished with a match-high three blocks.

Behrend returns to action on Saturday against Vassar at the UVC Crossover held at Medaille. The match beings at 11 a.m.