ERIE, Pa. (Jan. 25) -- The Thiel College men's volleyball team forced a deciding set after falling behind 2-0 against Penn State Altoona but ultimately fell in their day-two opener of the AMCC/PAC Crossover at Penn State Behrend's Junker Center Gym.

The Tomcats drop to 2-3 on the year while the Lions rise to 3-1 with set score wins of 26-24, 25-23, 22-25, 12-25 and 15-6.

The opening set featured 13 ties and four lead changes as the Tomcats clung to a 21-19 lead on an Ezra Oesterling (Shelocta, Pa./West Shamokin) kill. The Lions responded with a 4-0 run to pull ahead 23-19, but Thiel notched back-to-back points, the second of which came on a block from Jake Dies (Cambridge Springs, Pa./Cambridge Springs) and James Cromwell-Young (Virginia Beach, Va./Green Run). After side outs from both sides knotted the set at 24, Penn State Altoona took the next 2 points to go ahead 1-0. 

Oesterling posted a career- and match-best 24 kills while hitting .362 from the left pin to go with six digs and a pair of aces. His 24 kills are tied for the second most by a freshman in program history. The freshman standout has amassed 20-plus kills in two matches on the year and has reached double-digit kills in all five matches on the year.

Dies contributed seven kills and a match-high-tying three aces while Cromwell-Young had four kills and hit .300 out of the middle.

Thiel used a 5-0 run to pull ahead 17-13 in set two. The Lions tallied 7 of the next 9 points to go ahead 20-19. Trailing 23-21, Thiel got back-to-back kills from Will Zimmerman (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley) to even things at 23 before the Lions notched the next 2 points to go ahead 2-0. Set two had 11 ties and six lead changes.

Zimmerman had a near-double-double with a season-high 13 kills and a team-leading nine digs. 

A 3-0 Tomcats run with a pair of Oesterling kills along with a block from Dies and Kaleb Proudfoot (Butler, Pa./Butler) made it 15-13 in set three. Penn State Altoona notched the next 3 points before Thiel logged 5 of the next 6 points to go ahead 20-17. The Lions got within 1 at 22-21 before Thiel scored 3 of the final 4 points to get on the board. The set had 11 ties and four lead changes.

Proudfoot hit a match-best .500 (min. 10 attempts) and totaled seven kills for the match. The Jan. 14 PAC Offensive Player of the Week has hit at least .500 in three matches on the season.

Thiel road the set-three-win momentum into a 6-1 lead in set four. A 4-0 run grew the Tomcats lead to 13-5. Altoona logged back-to-back points to cut the deficit to 7 (18-11), but Thiel notched 7 of the final 8 points to force a fifth set.

Leading 5-3 in set five, the Lions used a 6-0 run to go ahead 11-3. A service error ended the run before Altoona scored the next 3 points to have 10 match-point opportunities. Proudfoot notched back-to-back kills to stave off 2 match points, but the Lions sided out to take the set 15-6.

Eli Olszowka (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) dished out a team-best 25 assists while Ben Lowell (Portland, Ore./Sunset) passed out 23 assists.

Men's volleyball returns to action at 4 p.m. against Penn State Behrend.