Medaille Edges Men's Volleyball in Five

BUFFALO, NY – The Medaille men's volleyball team posted a five-set win over Penn State Behrend in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on Tuesday night.

The Mavericks (4-9, 3-0 AMCC) handed the Lions (7-7, 3-1 AMCC) their first conference loss of the season, forcing nine errors in the fifth set for the win. Medaille went ahead first 25-20, before Behrend won the next two sets 25-18, 25-11. The Mavericks recovered with a 25-21 victory in the fourth and pulled away in the final set.

Tyler Herrmann (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) knocked down a career-high 18 kills and added 10 digs for a double-double. Joining him was Dillon Hildebrand (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) with 15 digs and 13 kills.  Joey Reynolds (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) added nine kills and five blocks.

In the fifth set, Medaille went ahead 4-0 with a pair of kills and a pair of attack errors by the Lions. The lead grew to five at 10-5, but an attack error by the Mavericks and a two kills from Herrmann got Behrend within two.

A kill from Matt Dickerson made it 11-8 and two errors combined with a block put the Mavericks two points from winning the match. A service error gave Behrend hope but we returned the favor and had another error to make it 15-9.

The Lions rallied back from a one-set deficit to win two in a row for a 2-1 lead. Behrend tallied 16 kills in the second and only committed one error in the third to hit .458 and make a statement with a 25-11 win.

In the second, three consecutive kills by Hildebrand and another by Jake Albert (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) put the Lions up 5-0. Behrend never trailed and grabbed a 10-digit lead at 22-12 off another kill by Hildebrand. Behrend had set point six times and Josh Mathews (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) finished it with a kill at 25-18.

The Lions did not allow Medaille to have a chance in the fourth. Behrend used an 8-3 run in the middle of the set to make it 23-9, before Hildebrand got set point with a kill at 25-11.

Anthony Sprentz (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) dished out 43 assists and had seven digs. Robert McMaster (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) had a match-high 19 digs.

The Lions return to action on Saturday at Staten Island with St. Joseph's, beginning at 11 a.m.