SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Buffalo State men's volleyball team held off New Jersey City this evening in a five-set thriller to advance in the NCAA Tournament inside Blake Arena. The win also marks the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.
Game basics
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 3, New Jersey City – 2
SET SCORES: (25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 32-30, 15-13)
LOCATION: Blake Arena – Springfield, Mass.
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 29-4 (12-0 AMCC), New Jersey City: 20-10 (8-0 SUNYAC)
Inside the Bengal box score
Gavin Wilczewski (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) led the Bengals offense with 22 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.
Kaden Strong (Buffalo, N.Y./West Seneca East) chipped in ten kills while posting a .364 hitting percentage.
Jackson Stang (Tonawanda, N.Y./Sweet Home) led the team with ten digs while Drew Bowman (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) dished out 48 assists.
Kellen Palmer (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) was a force at the net with five solo blocks.
Buffalo State came out firing as the Bengals scored eight of the first 12 points overall. After each side exchanged leads, Buffalo State 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 City 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 eventually clinched the set and the match following a service error from New Jersey City.
Up next
The Bengals advance to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, where they will battle host No. 1 Springfield tomorrow at 4 p.m.
This content is sourced from
Buffalo State University
. It reflects the author's views and has not been edited by our newsroom. It may have been generated using AI assistance.
