Lions Close Home Schedule with 3-1 Victory
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's volleyball team played its final home match of the 2026 season on Friday evening, when the Lions fought past Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Houghton University for a 3-1 win in Adler Arena.
Houghton (4-17, 3-3 AMCC) overcame a 24-20 deficit in the opening set to win it 28-26, but Penn State Altoona (6-13, 4-2 AMCC) got on track after that and took the next three sets by scores of 25-23, 25-13, and 25-20.
Caleb Fries (Altoona, PA/Altoona) scored a match-high 20 points for the Lions, getting 17 kills, two service aces, and two block assists. Jack McKenna (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) contributed 14.5 points on 13 kills, one solo block, and one block assist while also tallying 11 digs.
Andrew Kubiak (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) totaled 8.5 points with six kills, three block assists, and one solo block, and Lukas Weathersbee (Altoona, PA/Altoona) chipped in 6.5 points on six kills and a block assist.
Axel Jimenez (Los Angeles, CA/Malibu) recorded a team-best 21 assists while adding 11 digs. Travis Johns (Elderton, PA/West Shamokin) brought seven assists to go along with a solo block and block assist, and Shawn Thomas (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) had six assists.
Penn State Altoona led for the majority of the first set, working its way out to leads of 5-3, 9-5, 14-11, and eventually 24-20. But, facing set point, Houghton stayed alive by reeling off four straight points to knot the score at 24-24. An attack error by the Highlanders and a McKenna kill got the Lions back to set point, 26-25, but Houghton scored three in a row after that to steal the first set, 28-26.
The Lions got three consecutive Fries kills to open the second set, but an 8-0 run by Houghton midway through helped the visitors jump out to a 15-8 advantage. After that, Penn State Altoona scored seven of the next nine points, including getting a duo block from Ethan Wooldridge (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson) and Johns, as well as another combination block from Fries and Kubiak, to close the gap to 17-15. The Highlanders scored a pair of kills to make it 19-15, but the Lions used a 5-0 run that included three Fries points to leap in front, 20-19. Weathersbee's kill kept Penn State Altoona up by one, 21-20, and the Lions closed the set with three Houghton errors and a Fries kill to win it 25-23.
Penn State Altoona carried its momentum into the third set, which it won more handily. Early kills from Wooldridge, McKenna, and Fries helped the home team to an 8-4 lead, and McKenna and Wooldridge later teamed up on a block that expanded the Lions' advantage to 13-7. Kills from Fries and McKenna were part of a 5-0 run by Penn State Altoona that made it 18-9, and three straight Houghton attack errors ended the set at 25-13 in favor of the Lions.
The teams traded points for much of the fourth set, and Penn State Altoona found itself holding a slim 17-16 lead midway through. But the Lions used five straight points to expand their lead to 22-16, including getting two McKenna kills and one Fries kill during that span. Another kill from McKenna and a Houghton service error got Penn State Altoona to set point, 24-18, and a Fries kill clinched a 25-20 set victory that sealed the match win.
Next up, Penn State Altoona men's volleyball will close its regular season on the road with six more AMCC matches, beginning tomorrow, Saturday, March 21, with a 1 p.m. contest at conference foe Penn State Behrend.
