ROCHESTER, NY – Buffalo State (3-3) defeated Hartwick (3-3) in three sets, but fell to host school Nazareth (1-4) on the first day of the Golden Flyer Invitational on Friday night.

Against Nazareth, the Bengals traded wins with the Golden Flyers. Buffalo State dropped the first set 25-23, but followed up with a dominant 25-11 win. However, Nazareth was able to secure two wins to close out the match, winning 25-20 and 25-19.  Samantha Parente (E. Patchogue, NY/Bellport) paced the Bengals offense with 11 kills, while Jessica Crooks (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara-Wheatfield) added seven. Jennifer Cecchettini (Hamburg, NY/Frontier) had 26 assists and a team-high 17 digs. Also tallying double-digit digs were Rachelle Kelchlin (West Seneca, NY/St. Mary's) with 15, Hannah Renaldo (North Collins, NY/North Collins) with 11 and Allie Opera (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) with 10.

The Bengals bounced back later in the evening to get the win against Hartwick, defeating the Hawks 25-23, 25-11 and 25-20. Crooks paced the Buffalo State offense with nine kills. Cecchettini tallied 22 assists and 13 digs, while Renaldo recorded a team-high 13 digs.

Buffalo State will return to action on Saturday to close out the Golden Flyer Invitational with games against Lycoming and Hilbert.