ERIE, PA – The Mount Aloysius Mounties traveled north to face off against Penn State Behrend this Sunday, Feb 16. Due to travel issues, Trine College was unable to attend the originally scheduled tri-match, leading the Mounties and the Lions to play each other twice instead.
Game One
The first match up would see the Mounties play four tight sets against the Lions, falling to the hosts 19-25, 28-26, 21-25, 21-25.
Efficient attacking would play a major role in the result of the match. The Mounties would chalk up 28 errors, while the Lions would commit 19. The hosts would end with a .254 attack percentage for the game, more than doubling the percentage of the visitors.
Despite the loss, the Mounties would see strong performances on both sides of the ball.
Matthew Franz (Johnstown, Ohio, Bishop Hartley) would lead the Mounties with 12 kills across the four sets, also leading the defense effort with 12 digs. Teammates
Evan Schmidt (Loganville, Pa. , Dallastown Area) and
Connor O'Mealia (North Chili, N.Y., Churchville Chili) would also contribute to the Mountie effort, tallying 32 assists and recording 4 blocks across the contest, respectively.
Game Two
The second match would see the Mounties face strong attacking from Behrend on even stronger attack percentages. Falling in the first set 13-25, the Mounties attempted a rally back in the second, only to be shut down by the Lion's front line for another 13-25 set. The hosts would more than triple the visitors' hitting across the first two sets, posting a .500 attack percentage in the first and a .310 in the second, while recording 11 more kills than the Mounties.
The Mounties put together their strongest play of the game in the third set, battling the Lions to a 22-21 set score going into the final points. However, inopportune attack errors would end the day for the Mounties, falling to the hosts 23-25 behind a handful of missed kills.
The Mounties will return to action on February 22
nd as they will travel to Chambersburg, Pa. The tri-match is set to begin at 3:00 PM.
