BEREA, OH – Jake Woelfel (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca West) led the Bengals with a program-record 17 kills, but the Buffalo State men's volleyball team dropped the opening game of the inaugural season to NO. 18 Baldwin Wallace to open play at the Baldwin Wallace Invite on Saturday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Baldwin Wallace – 3, Buffalo State – 1
SET SCORES: 25-22, 25-19, 21-25, 25-18
LOCATION: Ursprung Gymnasium – Berea, OH
RECORDS: Baldwin Wallace (1-0), Buffalo State (0-1)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Woelfel's 17 kills came on just 27 attempts for a .481 attack percentage. He also contributed a team-high eight digs.
- Jackson Stang (Tonawanda, NY/Sweet Home) dished out 24 assists.
- Gavin Wilczewski (Elma, NY/East Aurora) also chipped in six kills.
- Kaden Strong (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca East) had three kills and four service aces.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The teams traded points early in the opening set, and a 3-0 run that included a kill by Wilczewski and an ace by Strong tied the score at 17-17.
- Alternating points for the next six points made it 20-20, before the Yellow Jackets won five of the final seven points to take the set.
- With the score knotted at 13-13 in the second set, Baldwin Wallace went on a 6-0 run. The Bengals countered by winning the next two points, but weren't able to get within five the rest of the set.
- The Bengals opened up a 15-10 lead in the third set, but the Yellow Jackets rallied to take a 21-20 lead.
- Buffalo State responded by winning the final five points for the first set victory in program history, capped off by an ace from Woelfel.
- The Yellow Jackets never trailed in a 25-18 victory in the fourth set to take the match.
FOR THE FOES
- Michael Beard and Owen Huynh each had 13 kills to lead Baldwin Wallace.
- Aidan Kim had a match-high 13 digs.
UP NEXT
The Bengals are back in action tomorrow morning, taking on Eastern Mennonite to wrap up play for the weekend.
