BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo State men's volleyball team split a pair of matches in straight sets on Saturday afternoon in day two of the Buffalo State Bengal Invite, defeating Wells and dropping a matchup with No. 5 St. John Fisher.
MATCH ONE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 3, Wells – 0
SET SCORES: (25-21, 25-22, 25-15)
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State (4-2), Wells (2-9)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Nate Lippitt (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) led all hitters with 11 kills, while Kaden Strong (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca East) chipped in 10 kills.
- George Muriel (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) had five kills on six attempts, and also had three blocks.
- Sean Denniston (Lockport, NY/Lockport) had 37 assists, while also contributing two kills.
- Christopher Laboy (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Lafayette) had eight kills and led Buffalo State with six digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Buffalo State fell behind 13-7 in the first set, but rallied back, and closed the set on a 13-2 run to take the opener.
- An 8-2 run for Buffalo State in the middle of the second set gave the Bengals a seven-point advantage behind two kills by Strong, and a kill each by Denniston, Lippitt, and Gavin Wilczewski (Elma, NY/East Aurora). Buffalo State held on for the 25-21 win in the set.
- An eight-point run behind the serving of Lippitt for the Bengals early in the third set made it 10-3, and Buffalo State extended the lead to as many as 10 on the way to the sweep.
FOR THE FOES
- Connor Garvey had eight kills to lead Wells.
MATCH TWO BASICS
FINAL SCORE: St. John Fisher – 3, Buffalo State – 0
SET SCORES: (21-25, 19-25, 21-25)
RECORDS: St. John Fisher (10-1), Buffalo State (4-3)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Wilczewski and Chi Jackson (Buffalo, NY/Cheektowaga) each had nine kills for the Bengals.
- Jackson Stang (Tonawanda, NY/Sweet Home) had 29 assists.
- Alex Nuez (Paterson, NJ/Eastside) led the Bengals with eight digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- St. John Fisher opened up a 13-7 lead in the first set. The Bengals pulled to within two at 16-14 thanks to back-to-back kills by Wilczewski and Jackson, but the Cardinal immediately responded with a four-point run of their own for a cushion on the way to a 25-21 victory.
- The Bengals led 14-13 in the second set after two kills by Jake Woelfel (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca West) and a kill by Strong, before St. John Fisher ended the set on a 12-4 run to win 25-19.
- The Bengals trailed for the entire third set, and although a three-point run made it 19-18, the Cardinals were able to hold on for the victory.
FOR THE FOES
- Jake Baker was the star of the game for the Cardinals, recording 16 kills on 24 attempts with just one error for a .625 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT
The Bengals are back in action at home on Tuesday evening against Hilbert at 7 pm.
