ERIE, Pa. (Mar. 26)– The Saint Vincent men's volleyball team dropped a pair of decisions at an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) tri match, falling to host Penn State Behrend in the opener by a 3-0 score, before dropping a 3-1 decision to Thiel in the nightcap. 

Match 1: Penn State Behrend 3, Saint Vincent 0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-12)
Matthew Minkin paced Saint Vincent with eight kills in the day's opener, while Thomas Franey added six. Ethan Kammerer led SVC with two blocks, while Minkin led the team with nine digs. Matthew Furrer dished out a team-leading 21 assists.

Penn State Behrend took the first four points in set number one, with three SVC errors and a kill. SVC and the Lions traded the next few points, before the Lions pulled ahead, 15-6. They continued to add down the stretch, closing the set on a 10-7 run to take the 25-13 set victory.

Saint Vincent got off to a strong start in the second set, opening up a 7-5  lead, before Penn State Behrend used a team effort to charge back. The Lions tallied the next four points, now leading by two 9-7. The Bearcats came within three, 19-15. Penn State Behrend recorded 3-5 of the last points of the match to take the 25-20 win in set two.

The Lions opened up a 13-5 lead in the third set. The Bearcats would score only seven more points in the match as  Behrend took control of the final set and take the match, 25-12.

Match 2: Thiel 3, Saint Vincent 1 (25-21, 16-25, 14-25, 23-25)
The Bearcats were strong out of the gates to open the day's second match, quickly jumping out to a 7-3 lead on Tomcat attack errors and kills from Anthony Ditonto, Kammerer, and Furrer. The Saint Vincent lead would dwindle to one, 9-8 but Thiel would then steal the momentum by scoring the next three points to lead by four, 12-8. The Bearcats would score four straight points to tie the game at 12 even as they closed out the set by scoring five straight points to take a 25-21 win in set one.

Thiel got off to a strong start in the second set, jumping out to a 16-11 lead. The Bearcats countered back cutting the deficit to four, 19-15 off of a kill by Minkin and attack error on the Tomcats. Thiel heated up down the stretch, ending the set on a 6-1 run to take it by a 25-16 score.

The Tomcats kept the momentum as the third set began, scoring the first three of four points before eventually opening up a 16-10 lead. The Bearcats battled back but they would get no closer, as Thiel upped their lead over the remainder of the match to close out a 25-14 win and force a fourth set.

To start the fourth set, Thiel took the first four points. Their lead would eventually stretch to seven, 15-8. The Bearcats fought back scoring the next three points to decrease their deficit to four, 15-11 and didn't fall without a fight. Thiel took the match 25-23 and the game in four sets, 3-1.

Minkin again led the Bearcats with fourteen kills. Franey led SVC with four blocks, while Connor McCune led the defense with 10 digs. Furrer handed out 29 assists.

The Bearcats will return to action on Thursday, Mar. 31, when they face Carlow University in a non-conference match at the Carey Center at 7 p.m.