PENN STATE BEHREND CLAIMS FIRST-EVER AMCC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TITLE

The Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team claimed their first-ever Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championship in the seven-year history of the conference sport after posting a 3-1 record during the regular season.

The Lions (10-10) opened conference play with three straight wins, posting a 3-1 (21-25, 30-28, 25-14, 25-18) decision over Hiram College in the first AMCC match. Behrend won three unanswered sets and Dillon Hildebrand knocked down a then career-high 19 kills.

The Lions then swept D'Youville College 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 30-28) on January 31. Robert McMaster led with 17 digs, while Hildebrand and Tyler Herrmann had double-digit kills with 12 and 10, respectively, to give Behrend a 2-0 record in conference play.

The third win came in five sets against the 2017 AMCC Champions Penn State Altoona on February 24 at the Junker Center. The Behrend Lions remained undefeated in AMCC play with a 25-13, 25-16, 23-25, 18-25 and 15-9 decision. The win marked the first victory over Altoona since the 2014-15 season, pushing the Lions overall record to 8-5 against the Altoona Lions.

Five-time AMCC Champions Medaille College edged out the Lions in their final conference match. The Mavericks took Behrend in five (25-20, 18-25, 11-25, 25-11, 15-9). Herrmann and Hildebrand each tallied double-doubles for the Lions.

With one match left to be played in the conference between Altoona and D'Youville, the Lions hold the head-to-head result against either team to claim the 2018 AMCC title.