Men’s Volleyball drops close contest at Penn State Behrend

ERIE, Pa. --- Carlow University men's volleyball lost a close, 3-0, contest to Penn State Behrend on the road Wednesday.

The Celtics (0-17) fell 29-27, 25-17 and 25-21 to the Lions (15-6).

Russ Cyprowski and Will Piccolino tallied 11 kills apiece in the effort.

James Stone and Logan Alexander added 12 digs each, and Cyprowski tallied the one service ace on the night.

The Lions took a 16-10 lead in the first set before Carlow went on a 7-1 run to tie the score, 17-all.

Penn State Behrend began to pull away, but the Celtics crept back to tie the score at 23 and 24.

After a Carlow timeout, Piccolino came up with a kill to tie the game at 25-all.

A Lions service error and another kill from Piccolino tied it up again at 27, but back-to-back kills gave Penn State Behrend the first set win.

The Celtics stayed within one or two points of the Lions in the second set, but Penn State Behrend went on a 7-1 run to end the game, 25-17.

Carlow started the third set with an 8-5 advantage and maintained its lead to be up, 15-10, midway through the set.

The Celtics led almost the entire way, but faltered at the end.

Two kills and a Carlow error afforded the Lions a 22-20 lead. A kill from Piccolino brought Carlow to within one point of tying the game, but two more errors and another Lions kill ended the final set in favor of the home team.

The Celtics conclude the 2023 season Saturday with a trip to Wittenberg (Ohio) University for a 1 p.m. match.