BUFFALO STATE MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TO FACE SPRINGFIELD IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

The Buffalo State University men's volleyball team, led by head coach Daniel Miranda, have earned an automatic bid for the 2026 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Tournament. The Bengals will battle New Jersey City University on Thursday in a play-in for their first matchup with the reigning national runner-up-Springfield hosting and awaiting the winner. Should the Bengals advance, they will play the winner of New Paltz and New York University.
 
This is the second straight year the Bengals will participate in the NCAA Tournament in program history. At 28-4 (12-0 AMCC), the Bengals will open play against the Gothic Knights who stand at a record of 20-9 (8-0 CUNYAC). New Jersey City also earned an automatic bid after winning their conference championship over Baruch College. Last season, the Bengals fell in their tournament debut against Baruch in four sets.

NCAA TOURNAMENT PLAY-IN – NEW JERSEY CITY GOTHIC KNIGHTS VS. BUFFALO STATE BENGALS
Thursday, April 16, 2026 – 6:30 PM
Blake Arena – Springfield, MA (Hosted by Springfield)
 
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Both the Buffalo State Bengals and the New Jersey City Gothic Knights earned an automatic bid into the tournament after winning their respective conference championships. The winner will advance to take on host #1 Springfield tomorrow evening. Whoever wins that matchup will close out the first weekend of the tournament against the winner of #7 New Paltz and #9 New York University on Saturday. This will be the first time the two sides have faced each other.
 
At 28-4 (12-0 AMCC), the Bengals enter the NCAA Tournament riding a four-game win streak. Buffalo State has yet to lose an AMCC contest since joining the conference last season and has yet to drop a set in the conference playoffs.

As a team, the Bengals led the AMCC in kills (1,362), assists (1,258), and points (1,774.5). The Bengals are also fifth in the country with a .875 winning percentage on the year.

Leading the team this year has been Gavin Wilczewski with a .318 hitting percentage and 325 kills across 101 sets played. He was second in the AMCC in kills and kills per set, and third in hitting percentage while also setting the program-record for kills in a season, service aces, and points. On the defensive end, he also led the team with 183 digs, averaging 1.76 digs per set.

Drew Bowman has also been a key piece of the Bengals with 956 assists on the year. That mark led the conference and set the program record for assists in a single season. He also set the mark for assists in a five-set match with 55 against St. John Fisher earlier this season.
 
Kaden Strong and Kellen Palmer have been a force at the net combining for 146 total blocks, averaging .66 blocks per set. The duo was also seen in the top-six in the AMCC in total blocks. Strong's best showing was a seven block performance against Geneva while Palmer tallied six against Penn State-Behrend during the regular season.

New Jersey City earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament after taking down Baruch in the CUNYAC Tournament. This will be the Gothic Knights first trip to the tournament since 2021 and their second appearance in program history. Leading the offensive attack for the Gothic Knights has been Marcus Pardasie with 254 kills and a .244 hitting percentage. Alex Casais has 856 assists, averaging 9.30 assists per set.

On the defensive side, Anthony Matute has 205 digs for New Jersey City while Victor De Souza has tallied 74 blocks at the net. The Gothic Knights also had four CUNYAC All-Conference picks in Pardasie, Matute, Casais, and Amaru Perales. Head Coach Carlo Edra was named the CUNYAC Coach of the Year.