BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo State men's volleyball team opened the Inaugural Bengal Invite with a pair of victories on Friday evening, defeating Potsdam in four sets, followed by a thrilling comeback victory over UC Santa Cruz in five sets to cap the night at the Sports Arena.
 
MATCH TWO BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 3, UC Santa Cruz – 2
SET SCORES: 13-25, 30-28, 13-25, 25-18, 16-14
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State (3-2), UC Santa Cruz (3-7)
 
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Gavin Wilczewski (Elma, NY/East Aurora) and Jake Woelfel (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca West) each tallied 17 kills, while Chi Jackson (Buffalo, NY/Cheektowaga) chipped in 13 kills.
• Jackson Stang (Tonawanda, NY/Sweet Home) dished out 50 assists, and had a game-high five service aces.
• Alex Nuez (Paterson, NJ/Eastside) had 17 digs for the Bengals.
• Kaden Strong (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca East) had four solo blocks and a pair of block assists.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the teams split the first ten points of the match, the Banana Slugs used a 14-5 run to build a nine-point advantage. The lead grew to as many as 12 as UC Santa Cruz took the first set convincingly.
• The Bengals responded with a 30-28 victory in the second set, winning five set points for UC Santa Cruz before Jackson had a kill, and Stang finished the set with back-to-back aces.
• UC Santa Cruz used a 7-0 run in the third set to turn a three-point edge into a convincing 10-point advantage on the way to winning 25-13 again.
• Buffalo State once again rallied in the fourth set, winning six of the final eight points to earn a 25-18 victory thanks to a pair of kills by Jackson, two aces from Stang, and a kill by Woelfel to finish the set.
• The Bengals led 10-7 in the fifth set, but the Banana Slugs tied the score at 11-11 shortly after. With the score tied at 14-14, Wilczewski came up clutch with a kill, followed by Stang going over on the second hit for a kill to close out the set after a pair of clutch digs by Nuez.

 
FOR THE FOES

• Kyle Ownbey had eight kills on just 12 attempts, while Andrew Pak dished out 43 assists.

 
GAME ONE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 3, Potsdam – 1
SET SCORES: (21-25, 25-14, 25-14, 25-20)
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State (2-2), Potsdam (2-6)
 
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Woelfel led the Bengals with 16 kills and a .387 hitting percentage.
• Wilczewski and Christopher Laboy (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Lafayette) each had nine kills.
• Laboy also led Buffalo State with nine digs.
• Hayden McCue (Fairport, NY/Fairport) had seven kills on 11 attempts, and also chipped in four total blocks.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Potsdam jumped out to an early lead in the first set at 12-8, and holding a three-point edge at 22-19. The Bengals pulled to within one after kills by Woelfel and a service ace by Dom Schiavitti (Lockport, NY/Lockport), but the Bears won the final three points to take the set 25-21.
• Buffalo State raced out to a 10-3 lead in the second set. Potsdam used a five-point run to cut the deficit to 15-13, but the Bengals immediately responded with a 8-0 run to regain a large cushion after three kills by Woelfel and a pair of kills by Strong. McCue closed the set with a solo block for a 25-14 victory.
• The Bengals once again won 25-14 in the third set, winning eight of the final 11 points in the set.
• Buffalo State jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the fourth set, and withstood multiple Potsdam runs to come away with a 25-20 victory to claim the match.

 
FOR THE FOES

 

• Duncan Tenhagen led Potsdam with eight kills, while Zaire Rogers had seven kills.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Bengals host Wells and St. John Fisher tomorrow at 12 pm and 2 pm to finish play at the Bengal Invite.