NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND – #1 SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE PRIDE VS. BUFFALO STATE BENGALS
Friday, April 17, 2026 – 4:00 PM
Blake Arena – Springfield, MA (Hosted by Springfield)
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LAST TIME OUT… Last time out, the Bengals won their first NCAA Tournament contest in program history following a five-set thriller with New Jersey City.
Gavin Wilczewski (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) led the Bengals offense with 22 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.
Kaden Strong (Buffalo, NY/West Seneca East) chipped in ten kills while posting a .364 hitting percentage.
Jackson Stang (Tonawanda, NY/Sweet Home) led the team with ten digs while
Drew Bowman (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) dished out 48 assists.
Kellen Palmer (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) was a force at the net with five solo blocks.
THE MATCHUP/HOW WE GOT HERE… After defeating New Jersey City in the play-in round, the Bengals will battle host-#1 Springfield who enters the tournament as the reigning-national runner-up. Whoever wins this matchup will close out the first weekend of the tournament against the winner of #7 New Paltz and #9 New York University on Saturday. The Pride enter the tournament as the top team in the country as they fell to Southern Virginia last year in the NCAA National Championship.
LAST TIME WE MET… This will be the first time the two sides have faced each other.
THE BENGAL BREAKDOWN… At 29-4 (12-0 AMCC), the Bengals look to keep the momentum going with another NCAA Tournament win. 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) during the regular season. The Bengals were also fifth in the country with a .875 winning percentage on the year.
Leading the team this year was Wilczewski with a .318 hitting percentage and 325 kills across 101 sets played entering the tournament. 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 entering the tournament. 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 Palmer have been a force at the net combining for 146 total blocks, averaging .66 blocks per set during the regular season. 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.
STUDYING SPRINGFIELD… The host-Pride enter the tournament with a record of 21-3 overall. Playing independently, the Pride earned an at-large bid into the tournament. Springfield opens their tournament action dropping just two sets since the beginning of March. They have also reached the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament since 2012, winning 11 titles overall.
Leading the way for Springfield is the back-to-back AVCA Region I Player of the Year in Dylan Mulvaney. Mulvaney paced a Pride offense that posted a .348 hitting percentage while he added 750 assists as their main setter.
Head Coach Charlie Sullivan was named the AVCA Region I Coach of the Year for a second straight year and fifth time overall. During the season, he reached 564 career wins, good for second all-time on the Division III wins list.
SCHEDULES/RESULTS…
BUFFALO STATE BENGALS: 29-4 (12-0 AMCC)
#1 SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE PRIDE: 21-3
