BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo State men's volleyball team pulled off a stunning home comeback, defeating the Penn State Behrend Lions in five sets, 3-2, to stay undefeated in AMCC play.

GAME BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 3, Penn State Behrend – 2
SET SCORES: (25-27, 18-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-11)
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 12-2 (3-0 AMCC), Penn State Behrend: 8-5 (3-1 AMCC)

INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Gavin Wilczewski (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) led the Bengals with 15 kills, with Kaden Strong (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca East) backing him up with 13 kills.
• Drew Bowman (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) notched another double-digit assists game, racking up 44 assists to lead the Bengals.  
• On the defensive end, Wilczewski led the Bengals with 12 digs, with Xzavier Vanderstouw (Baldwinsville, NY/CW Baker) and Jackson Stang (Tonawanda, NY/Sweet Home) each adding ten digs. At the net, Strong led with three total blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Returning to the Sports Arena after splitting their weekend series on the road, the Bengals looked to extend their AMCC win streak to nine games as they hosted the Penn State Behrend Lions.
• In the first set, the Bengals would jump out to an early lead over the Lions, holding steady behind a three-point run. The Lions would answer with a six-point rally to take their first lead and put the pressure on the Bengals to close out the set. A late back-and-forth stretch would see the Bengals lose momentum late, as the Lions would steal the first set from the Bengals.  
• In the second set, it would be all Lions, as they returned the favor to jump out early on the Bengals. A plethora of mistakes would make a comeback in this set difficult for the Bengals, with the Lions keeping their foot on the gas to cruise to a second set win and putting the Bengals in danger of a three-set sweep.
• In the third set, the Bengals found their form, responding to stay alive in this AMCC matchup. A four-point rally from the Lions would tie this set midway through, but the Bengals would take advantage of mistakes by the Lions to claim their first set win of the night and keep a comeback alive.
• After trading points to begin the fourth set, the Lions would gain some distance from the Bengals, following a three-point rally. The Bengals would answer with a five-point rally, taking the lead from the Lions and putting them in the driver's seat. A race to the finish, the Bengals would do enough to close out the fourth set and force a fifth set to crown a winner.  
• In the fifth set, both sides would trade points once again, but the Bengals would get the advantage needed behind a four-point rally to take control of the set. As the Bengals got closer to lucky number '15', the Lions wouldn't go away without a fight, responding with a three-point rally to bring this matchup tighter. But too little, too late…as the Bengals would hold strong to close out the fifth set, completing a comeback win over the Lions in this AMCC bout, extending their AMCC win streak to nine straight.    

FOR THE FOES

• Jack Wilcox led the Lions with 18 kills, with Luke Mumpower leading all players with 45 assists.
• Defensively, Daniel Easly led with 12 digs while Lewis Rhodes finished with four total blocks.

UP NEXT
The Bengals look to keep the momentum rolling as they take to the road this Friday, traveling to Thiel College for a tri-match with Thiel and Geneva. The Bengals will battle the Golden Tornadoes of Geneva College at 6:00 PM before finishing their night against the Thiel College Tomcats at 8:00 PM.