Men’s Volleyball concludes New York road trip with tri-match at Houghton

HOUGHTON, N.Y. --- Carlow University men's volleyball concluded its trip to New York with a tri-match at Houghton University Saturday.

The Celtics (0-16, 0-4 AMCC) fell to host Houghton, 3-0, and to Penn State Behrend, 3-0.

vs. Houghton: L, 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-23)

Gavin McLain (Acworth, Ga./North Paulding HS) led Carlow with six kills, three aces and a solo block. Angelo Fernandez (Williamsport, Pa./St. John Neumann Regional Academy) recorded eight digs, and Jaden Michalski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) and Morgan Shriver (Taylorstown, Pa./McGuffey HS) added four kills apiece.

The Highlanders (2-18, 1-3 AMCC) started off with a 7-3 lead in the first set before an error handed the ball over to the Celtics and set off a 5-1 run for Carlow that tied the game at 8-8 and forced a Houghton timeout.

A kill from Luke Campana (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin HS) tied the game at 9-all, and another Highlanders attack error handed Carlow a 10-9 lead. It was short-lived, as Houghton outscored Carlow 11-4, taking a five-point lead and prompting a Celtics timeout. A service error and a kill from Shriver saw Carlow trailing by three, but a kill and four errors proved to be the downfall of the Celtics, dropping the first set 25-18.

Houghton jumped out to an 11-2 lead enroute to a 25-11 victory in the second set.

Carlow rallied in the third, taking a 6-3 lead early on and maintaining its distance from the Highlanders throughout the set. Ahead 15-11, a kill, an ace and a Carlow error saw the Highlanders trailing by one, but a kill from Michalski brought the ball back to the Celtics.

Three points in a row gave Houghton its first lead of the game at 22-21 but an error on the next serve tied the game at 22-all. Another kill and another service error tied the game at 23-23, but the Highlanders locked up the game and the match with back-to-back kills to win, 25-23.

Elijah Sproull led the Highlanders with a game-high eight kills and six service aces. Jerry Buno tallied a game-high nine digs.

vs. Penn State Behrend: L, 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-16)

McLain led the Celtics with a game- and career-high 11 kills in the effort against the Lions (9-14, 3-1 AMCC). He did not commit a single attack error to hit .647 in the game. Fernandez picked up seven digs, and Ryan Callahan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area HS) added 10 assists in the effort.

Behrend got out to a 10-5 lead in the first set and steadily pulled away from the Celtics until the end. A Carlow service error set off a 6-1 run for the Lions to win the set, 25-14.

The Lions gained a 15-6 lead in the second set, and once again concluded the set with a 6-1 run to secure a 25-11 victory.

The Lions led 20-10 in the third set, and although the Celtics continued to battle, they ran out of time as Behrend shut the door in the 25-16 set and match win.

Caleb Daubenspeck led the Lions with seven kills. Jake Mumpower tallied three aces, and Tarendran Heyward added five digs.

The Celtics host Penn State Behrend for a 7 p.m. match April 1.