NCAA TOURNAMENT PLAY-IN – NEW JERSEY CITY GOTHIC KNIGHTS VS. BUFFALO STATE BENGALS
Thursday, April 16, 2026 – 6:30 PM
Blake Arena – Springfield, MA (Hosted by Springfield)
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LAST TIME OUT… Last time out, the Bengals won their second consecutive AMCC Championship following a three set sweep over the Penn State Behrend Lions.
Gavin Wilczewski (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) paced the Buffalo State offensive with 11 kills and a .407 hitting percentage.
Drew Bowman (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) dished out 30 assists and
Jackson Stang (Tonawanda, NY/Sweet Home) led the team with nine digs.
Kaden Strong (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca East) was a force at the net with five total blocks.
THE MATCHUP/HOW WE GOT HERE… Both the Buffalo State Bengals and the New Jersey City Gothic Knights earned an automatic bid into the tournament after winning their respective conference championships. The winner will advance to take on host #1 Springfield tomorrow evening. Whoever wins that matchup will close out the first weekend of the tournament against the winner of #7 New Paltz and #9 New York University on Saturday.
LAST TIME WE MET… This will be the first time the two sides have faced each other.
THE BENGAL BREAKDOWN… At 28-4 (12-0 AMCC), the Bengals enter the NCAA Tournament riding a four-game win streak. Buffalo State has yet to lose an AMCC contest since joining the conference last season and has yet to drop a set in the conference playoffs.
As a team, the Bengals led the AMCC in kills (1,362), assists (1,258), and points (1,774.5). The Bengals are also fifth in the country with a .875 winning percentage on the year.
Leading the team this year has been Wilczewski with a .318 hitting percentage and 325 kills across 101 sets played. He was second in the AMCC in kills and kills per set, and third in hitting percentage while also setting the program-record for kills in a season, service aces, and points. On the defensive end, he also led the team with 183 digs, averaging 1.76 digs per set.
D. Bowman has also been a key piece of the Bengals with 956 assists on the year. That mark led the conference and set the program record for assists in a single season. He also set the mark for assists in a five-set match with 55 against St. John Fisher earlier this season.
BLOCK PARTY… Strong and
Kellen Palmer (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) have been a force at the net combining for 146 total blocks, averaging .66 blocks per set. The duo was also seen in the top-six in the AMCC in total blocks. Strong's best showing was a seven block performance against Geneva while Palmer tallied six against Penn State-Behrend during the regular season.
AMCC ALL-CONFERENCE… Buffalo State saw four AMCC All-Conference selections in Wilczewski, Strong, D. Bowman, and
Brady Bowman (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park). Wilczewski and Strong were First Team AMCC All-Conference picks while the Bowman brothers each earned a spot on the Second Team.
Wilczewski was also named the AMCC Player of the Year, Palmer was named the AMCC Newcomer of the Year, and head coach
Daniel Miranda repeated as the AMCC Coach of the Year.
AVCA ALL-REGION... Wilczewski continued his stellar junior campaign earning a spot on the AVCA All-Region II team. He is just the second player in program history to earn the honor. In addition, Miranda was named the AVCA Region II Coach of the Year.
NOTES ON NEW JERSEY CITY… New Jersey City earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament after taking down Baruch in the CUNYAC Tournament. This will be the Gothic Knights first trip to the tournament since 2021 and their second appearance in program history.
Leading the offensive attack for the Gothic Knights has been Marcus Pardasie with 254 kills and a .244 hitting percentage. Alex Casais has 856 assists, averaging 9.30 assists per set.
On the defensive side, Anthony Matute has 205 digs for New Jersey City while Victor De Souza has tallied 74 blocks at the net. The Gothic Knights also had four CUNYAC All-Conference picks in Pardasie, Matute, Casais, and Amaru Perales. Head Coach Carlo Edra was named the CUNYAC Coach of the Year.
SCHEDULES/RESULTS…
BUFFALO STATE BENGALS: 28-4 (12-0 AMCC)
NEW JERSEY CITY GOTHIC KNIGHTS: 20-9 (8-0 CUNYAC)
