SUNYAC CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND – #5 BUFFALO STATE BENGALS AT #4 BROCKPORT GOLDEN EAGLES
Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 – 6:00 PM
Jim and John Vlogianitis Gymnasium – Brockport, NY

FOLLOW ALONG…
 
LIVE STATS
VIDEO (OFFICIAL SUNYAC BROADCAST)
 
LAST TIME OUT… Last time out, the Bengals held off the University of Rochester in a five-set thriller Saturday afternoon.

Freshman Ella Wittman (Cheektowaga, NY/Springville Griffith) led the Bengals with 15 kills while Samantha Coakley (Lockport, NY/Lockport) and Erin Mergler (Amherst, NY/Williamsville North) also had double-digit kills by notching 12 and 11, respectively.

On the defensive side of the ball, Adi Vergara (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico/Kingdom Christian) had 18 digs.

After the Bengals won the first two sets, the Yellowjackets stormed back to win the next two sets. In the decisive fifth and final set, Buffalo State was able to capitalize on a pair of mistakes from Rochester and secure the win. The Bengals were also able to snap the Yellowjackets three-game win streak against Buffalo State.

THE MATCHUP…  The fourth-seeded Brockport Golden Eagles will play host to the fifth-seeded Buffalo State Bengals.

This will be the 64^th meeting all-time between the Golden Eagles and Bengals since 1990. The last time these two teams met in the SUNYAC Tournament was back in 2021 where the Golden Eagles swept Buffalo State in the SUNYAC Tournament First Round. Brockport has also won the last 10 head-to-head matchups overall.

Buffalo State will be competing in the SUNYAC Tournament for the third consecutive season. Under Head Coach Maria Roberts, the Bengals have reached the postseason for the seventh time. Buffalo State has reached the SUNYAC Semifinals three times and will be aiming to get back there for the first time since 2014.

Brockport will be competing in the SUNYAC Tournament for the eighth consecutive season. Last season, the Golden Eagles fell in five sets in the SUNYAC Championship to Cortland. Brockport will aim to get to the SUNYAC Semifinals for the fourth straight year and the first year under Head Coach Jim Clar.
 
LAST TIME WE MET…  The two sides met back in October where Brockport swept the Bengals in three sets.

Wittman led the team with six kills while Riley Domin (Getzville, NY/Williamsville South) dished out 10 assists. Jenna Hugenschmidt (Clarence Center, NY/Clarence) led the way with 13 digs.

Leading the way for Brockport was Jordan Thompson who had 15 kills. Kaitlyn Jewett dished out 34 assists while Brooklyn Sullivan had 23 digs.

Brockport's offense dominated the contest as they never trailed throughout the match.
 
THE BENGAL BREAKDOWN…  At 16-11 (5-4 SUNYAC), the Bengals have their highest win total since the 2014 season where the team won 25 matches. The is also the first time Buffalo State has reached the postseason in three consecutive seasons since 2012-2014.

The Bengals finished the regular season winning four of their last five matchups including each of the final three contests.

Buffalo State will aim to get back to the SUNYAC Semifinals for the first time since 2014 and hope to reach the SUNYAC Finals for the first time since 2014. The last time the Bengals made it to the SUNYAC Championship was 2013 when they defeated New Paltz in four sets for the program's sole title.

WATCHING WITTMAN… Wittman has had a stellar debut season with the Bengals. Wittman currently leads the team and sits fifth in the SUNYAC with 263 kills on the season. Averaging over eight kills per set, Wittman has tallied the most kills in a season for a Bengal since Lauren Hansen had 348 kills back in 2017.

BLOCK PARTY… McCartney Geartz (North Tonawanda, NY/North Tonawanda) has been a force in front of the net for the Bengals. With 59 blocks on the year, that total sits tied for sixth in the SUNYAC. Averaging nearly one block per set, Geartz sits third in the conference in that category and in the top-100 in the nation.

DIG, DIG, DIG… Vergara has also had an impressive debut season for the Bengals on the defensive side of the ball. Vergara leads the team with 300 digs which also sits top-10 in the conference.

THE ROAD TO 1,000… As a team, Buffalo State has 999 kills on the season which is by far the most the squad has tallied in a single season since the 2015 team had 1,103 kills. 2015 was also the last time the team reached 1,000 kills in a single season. The Bengals also sit fourth as a team in the SUNYAC in that category.

SPREADING THE BALL AROUND… Domin and Karlie Shaffer (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown East) have been terrific spreading the ball around. The duo has combined for 770 assists on the season. With the team assist total at 906, that mark is the highest total in a season since 2014 when the team tallied 1,234 assists.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN… The Bengals have been solid on the road compiling a 7-5 record. With that record, Buffalo State has their most road wins in a season since they went 7-5 away from the Sports Arena back in 2009. It is also their first winning season on the road since 2014.

BUFFALO STATE REVENGE TOUR… The Bengals only conference loses this season have been to the four teams ahead of them in the SUNYAC Tournament seeding. Starting with Brockport, the Bengals will aim to get revenge on each squad in quest for the second SUNYAC Championship in program history.

EYES ON THE GOLDEN EAGLES… Brockport welcomes the Bengals with a record of 15-13 (6-3 SUNYAC) on the year.

The Golden Eagles are a perfect 6-0 at home on the year and finished the regular season with a win against Clark University.

Leading Brockport on offense is Jordan Thompson who has 381 kills on the year to lead the SUNYAC. Kaitlyn Jewett has dished out 704 assists on the year while Elsie Logan leads the team with 392 digs. As a team, Brockport leads the conference in kills, assists, and digs.

Brockport is aiming for their tenth SUNYAC Championship all-time and their first since 2019.

SCHEDULES/RESULTS…
 
BUFFALO STATE BENGALS: 16-11 (5-4 SUNYAC)

BROCKPORT GOLDEN EAGLES: 15-13 (6-3 SUNYAC)