BUFFALO STATE MEN'S VOLLEYBALL ADVANCES IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

The Buffalo State University men's volleyball team held off New Jersey City University Thursday evening in a five-set play-in game thriller to advance in the NCAA Tournament inside Blake Arena. The win marks the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.

FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 3, New Jersey City – 2
SET SCORES: (25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 32-30, 15-13)

Gavin Wilczewski led the Bengals offense with 22 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, as Kaden Strong chipped in ten kills while posting a .364 hitting percentage. Jackson Stang led the team with ten digs while Drew Bowman dished out 48 assists. Kellen Palmer was a force at the net with five solo blocks.

Buffalo State came out firing as they scored eight of the first 12 points overall. After each side exchanged leads, the Bengals took a 21-20 lead and eventually scored four straight points to close out the opening set. The Gothic Knights bounced back in the second set. Despite a late lead from the Bengals, New Jersey City finished the set with a 5-1 run to even the score. New Jersey kept the momentum going in the third set. The set featured a late 10-2 run for the Gothic Knights to take a 2-1 set advantage. In the fourth set, both sides went back-and-forth refusing to give an inch. The Bengals finally forced a fifth set after an attack error from New Jersey City. A fast start in the fifth set proved to be crucial for the Bengals. After the Gothic Knights rallied to take an 8-5 lead, the Bengals found their rhythm and took control of the set. Buffalo State would eventually clinch the set and the match following a service error from New Jersey City.

Marcus Pardaise led the Gothic Knights with 25 kills while Alex Casais had 59 assists. Anthony Matute posted a match-high 22 digs in the effort.

The Bengals advance to the first round of the NCAA Tournament where they will battle host-#1 Springfield tomorrow at 4:00 pm.