NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND – BARUCH COLLEGE BEARCATS VS. BUFFALO STATE BENGALS
Thursday, April 17, 2025 – 6:30 PM
John A. Paulson Center – New York, NY (Hosted by NYU)
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LAST TIME OUT… Last time out, the Bengals won their first ever AMCC Championship following a three set sweep over the Penn State Behrend Lions.
Malachi Jackson (Buffalo, NY/Cheektowaga) paced the Bengals with 19 kills and a .455 hitting percentage.
Kaden Strong (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca East) also posted a strong performance with nine kills, a .615 attack percentage, and three blocks.
Drew Bowman (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) dished out 30 assists while
Alex Vega (Cambita Garabitos, Dominican Republic) had 14 digs. Jackson and Strong were each named to the AMCC All-Tournament Team.
Both sides were competitive at the start as the matchup opened with a 13-13 score. The Bengals then went on a 6-0 run to take control in the set. The Lions had a late push with a 10-5 run to put pressure on Buffalo State. However, Jackson got the final kill to give the set to Buffalo State. In the second set with a 4-4 score, the Bengals caught fire with a 9-3 run to keep their dominant momentum. Another late 6-1 swing from the Bengals allowed them to win the second set. The final set saw the Bengals come out strong with a 4-1 lead. Penn State Behrend responded and stayed in the game as they never let the Bengal lead grow larger than three. Buffalo State scored four of the final five points overall and clinched the conference title following an attack error from the Lions.
Kyle Hoffman tallied ten kills for the Lions. Luke Mumpower dished out 19 assists and six digs.
THE MATCHUP/HOW WE GOT HERE… Both the Buffalo State Bengals and the Baruch Bearcats earned an at-large bid into the tournament after winning their respective conference championships. The winner will advance to take on host #1 NYU tomorrow evening.
LAST TIME WE MET… This will be the first time the two sides have faced each other.
THE BENGAL BREAKDOWN… At 21-13 (6-0 AMCC), the Bengals enter the NCAA Tournament riding an 11-game win streak. Buffalo State has not lost a set in each of the last eight games as they clinched the AMCC regular season crown going unbeaten in conference play.
As a team, the Bengals made big impression in their first season in the AMCC. Buffalo State led the conference in kills (1,350), kills per set (11.84), attack percentage (.227), assists (1,246), digs (1,228), digs per set (10.77), and total points (1700.0).
THE ENGINE… Jackson had been a leader on the Buffalo State offense since returning to the lineup in late January. The senior outside hitter led the Bengals this season in kills (255), points (293.0), kills per set (3.70), and was second in attack percentage (.305) on his way to being named the AMCC Player of the Year.
BLOCK PARTY… The Bengals defense was impressive this season and Strong and
Hayden McCue (Fairport, NY/Fairport) combined for 125.0 total blocks. Both sat top 10 in the AMCC in that category.
ALL-AMCC… Jackson also earned a First Team All-AMCC selection with Strong and Vega. Bowman earned a Second Team All-AMCC nod while head coach
Daniel Miranda was named the AMCC Coach of the Year.
ALL-REGION... Vega is the first player in program history to earn AVCA All-Region II honors. The junior libero totaled 330 digs and averaged 3.40 digs per set.
A LOOK AT BARUCH… The Bearcats enter the tournament with a record of 17-11 (13-1 CUNYAC). After sweeping John Jay in their conference semifinals, Baruch was a five-set thriller over Hunter College to win the conference and earn the automatic bid.
Noah Pak leads the team with 227 kills and 275.5 points on the year. Ryan Oommen has 685 assists, averaging nearly 7.50 assists per set and Haoxin Hu has 44 service aces.
On the defensive side of the ball, Oommen has 130 digs to lead the Bearcats and Ari Osmanaj has 60.0 total blocks.
SCHEDULES/RESULTS…
BUFFALO STATE BENGALS: 21-13 (6-0 AMCC)
BARUCH COLLEGE BEARCATS: 17-11 (13-1 CUNYAC)
