LATROBE, Pa. (Feb. 12) – The Saint Vincent men's volleyball team dropped a back-and-forth battle with Penn State-Behrend by a 3-1 score in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Sunday matinee in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.

The Lions (7-2, 5-0 AMCC) took the first set by a 25-20 margin, before the Bearcats (3-4, 2-2 AMCC) came back to tie the match with a 25-17 win in set two. Behrend would then close it out with wins of 25-15 and 25-22 in the third and fourth sets.

Matthew Minkin led the Bearcats by recording his sixth double-double of the season on 14 kills and 14 digs. He was one of three SVC players to post 10 or more kills, as Shawn McSwiggen put down 16 and Zebadiah Wyant 12. The Bearcats also boasted three players with double-digit digs, with Minkin joined by Joshua Canty, who had 12, and Matthew Klasnic, with 10.

Fresh off of a school-record, 44-assist performance a day earlier in a win over Hilbert, freshman Zach Wyant dished out 37 assists while leading SVC with five blocks. McSwiggen served all three of Saint Vincent's aces.

In the first set, the teams traded points early on, before Behrend used a 5-1 run to open up a 10-5 lead. A Behrend error, followed by kills from Minkin and McSwiggen, pulled SVC to within two, before McSwiggen's first ace of the day cut the Lion lead to 13-12. The Lions would regroup to score eight of the set's next nine points to open up a commanding 21-13 lead. Saint Vincent looked to rally late, with a pair of Behrend errors sandwiching kills from Zebadiah Wyant and Minkin to cut the deficit to 24-20, but the Lions promptly scored the game-winner to close out the 25-20 win.

The second set belonged to the Bearcats, as McSwiggen got things started with two quick kills to give the hosts a lead they would not relinquish. Saint Vincent opened up advantages of 4-2, 7-3 and 10-6 over the early going, and the Lions would get no closer than four points over the remainder of the set. Leading 14-10, the Bearcats scored six straight points, with two kills from Minkin and one apiece from McSwiggen and Zebadiah Wyant, to open up a 20-10 advantage. The Lions would then battle back to cut the deficit to 21-17, but SVC scored the final four points, capped off by a Behrend attack error, to pull away for the 25-17 victory.

The Bearcats and Lions went back and forth to open up the fourth set. McSwiggen produced three early kills and Michael Pollak two to keep SVC within striking distance at 8-7. Behrend answered with a 6-1 run to open up a 14-8 lead and the margin would remain between five and seven points over the next several rallies until the Lions scored the final five points to take the set, 25-15.

Saint Vincent quickly shrugged off the third-set loss by opening up an early 9-5 lead in the fourth, with two kills from Minkin and a kill and ace from McSwiggen. Following a timeout, Behrend seized the momentum, scoring five straight points to tie it at 9-9. Play would then even out, with five ties and three lead changes over the next several serves. After Zebadiah Wyant's kill tied the set at 14, the Lions countered with three straight points to take a 17-14 lead. SVC continued to battle back, twice pulling to within one, before Zachary Mumpower and Zebadiah Wyant put down two quick kills to tie it at 22. The Bearcats, however, were unable to answer with another rally, as Behrend scored the final three points to seal the 25-22 set victory and 3-1 match win.

Kyle Hoffman paced the Behrend offense with 14 kills, while Adrian Martinez picked up 24 digs and Luke Mumpower served three aces.

Saint Vincent will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 14, traveling to Ohio to take on AMCC foe Hiram College in a 7 p.m. match.