ERIA, PA – The Buffalo State men's volleyball team clinched their first ever regular season title, earned the top overall seed in the AMCC Tournament, and also won their ninth-straight matchup overall following wins over Penn State Behrend and Grove City this afternoon at the Junker Center Gym.
GAME ONE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 3, Penn State Behrend – 0
SET SCORES: (25-18, 25-20, 25-21)
LOCATION: Junker Center Gym – Erie, PA
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 18-13 (6-0 AMCC), Penn State Behrend: 11-15 (4-2 AMCC)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Malachi Jackson (Buffalo, NY/Cheektowaga) paced the Bengals with 14 kills and a .300 attack percentage.
- Brady Bowman (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) added 11 kills of his own.
- Kaden Strong (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca East) and Hayden McCue (Fairport, NY/Fairport) each had four blocks with Alex Vega (Cambita Garabitos, Dominican Republic) adding 10 digs on the defensive side.
- Head Coach Daniel Miranda also earned his 100th career win as a men's volleyball head coach. Miranda now has 127 wins as a head coach overall in his career between men's and women's.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The matchup started with a back-and-forth affair with the score even at 11-11.
- After a four point swing from the Bengals, the Lions came back to trail by one. Buffalo State then went on a 7-2 run to take control in the opening set before eventually winning the set.
- In the second set, the Lions held the momentum early before the Bengals went on a 12-7 run to take the second set.
- In the final set, Penn State Behrend pushed the Bengals all the way to the end. After an attack error from the Lions, the Bengals ended the match with a 5-3 run capped off with a kill from Jackson to secure the win and the top seed in the conference tournament.
FOR THE FOES
- Kyle Hoffman led the Lions with 10 kills.
- Luke Mumpower dished our 17 assists while Cameron Schleicher had a team-high six digs.
GAME TWO BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 3, Grove City – 0
SET SCORES: (25-18, 30-28, 25-16)
LOCATION: Junker Center Gym – Erie, PA
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 19-13 (6-0 AMCC), Grove City: 13-13 (8-4 PAC)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Jackson had another dominant showing with 16 kills and a .519 attack percentage while Strong added 12 kills and a .450 attack percentage.
- Drew Bowman (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) dished our 35 assists with Vega adding another 10 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Buffalo State jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead to open action. Grove City responded with an 8-4 swing to even the score at 10-10.
- After Buffalo State scored seven of the next 10 points, Jackson was able to secure a pair of kills down the stretch to secure the first set.
- The second set was back-and-forth the entire way. Buffalo State three unanswered points at the end and earned the second set following a set error from the Wolverines.
- After taking the lead early in the third set, the Bengals were able to score eight of the final 11 points overall to win their second sweep of the afternoon.
FOR THE FOES
- Max Gianneski led Grove City with 10 kills while Ben McVey had 12 digs.
- Craig Fair had 22 assists and a service ace for the Wolverines.
UP NEXT
The Bengals will host the AMCC Tournament next weekend. Buffalo State, Penn State Altoona, Penn State Behrend, and Mount Aloysius will be seeded 1-4, respectively, with a pair of semifinal matchups set for Friday at 4:30/7:00 pm and the championship game set for Saturday at 3:00 pm.
