ALTOONA, Pa. – The fifth-seeded Thiel College men's volleyball team was defeated, 3-0, by the fourth-seeded Penn State Altoona Lions in the first round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Men's Volleyball Championship Tournament on Tuesday.
 
The Lions won each set with scores of 25-18, 25-21, and 25-17. In the first two sets the Tomcats trailed just 9-8 early but were outscored 16-10 the rest of the first set. In the second set the Lions notched two five-point runs. In the third set the Tomcats led 9-8 but a six-point run gave the Lions a 14-9 lead and they would hang on to win the set and match.
 
Colton Greenlee (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) led the Tomcats with seven kills and notched three blocks. Jake Dies (Cambridge Springs, Pa./Cambridge Springs) led the team with five blocks and added five kills. David Gonzalez (El Paso, Texas/Eastwood) also tallied five kills and four digs. Ricky Castillo (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way West) topped Thiel with eight digs. Brandon Millias (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) and Ethan Scott (Glenn Rock, Pa./Dallastown) recorded 17 and 11 assists, respectively. Jacob Smeltzer (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) and JC Govannucci (North Huntington, Pa./Norwin) each notched four kills and Govannucci added three blocks.
 
For the Lions, Philip Silva totaled 13 kills and six service aces. Connor Baker notched 29 assists and 12 digs.
 
Penn State Altoona will advance to the semifinals to face the top-seeded Penn State Behrend. The Tomcats conclude the season with a 10-18 overall record, including a 9-7 record in the AMCC in the regular season.