Men’s Volleyball faces two nationally ranked opponents in Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. ---Carlow University men's volleyball faced No. 17-ranked Buffalo State College and No. 20-ranked Thiel College at a tri-match hosted by Buffalo State Saturday.

Host Buffalo State (8-1,1-0 AMCC) swept the Celtics in the first match of the day, and Thiel (9-4, 0-0 PAC) won the second match against Carlow, 3-0.

vs. #17 Buffalo State: L, 3-0 (25-9, 25-17, 25-12)

Carlow opened Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference action with the first match against Buffalo State.

The Bengals landed 20 services aces in the sweep of Carlow in the 11 a.m. match.

Gavin McLain (Acworth, Ga./North Paulding HS) led the Celtics with a game-high seven kills. Angelo Fernandez (Williamsport, Pa./St. John Neumann Regional Academy) and Jaden Michalski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) led Carlow with four digs apiece, and Luke Campana (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin HS) recorded three blocks.

Buffalo State scored 12 unanswered points, jumping out to a 14-2 lead enroute to decisive 25-9 first set victory.

The Celtics fared better in the second set, tying the game several times and trailing 17-13 late in the set. A 5-0 run put the Bengals ahead 22-13, and the Celtics simply ran out of time in the 25-17 loss.

A 10-0 start with five service aces for Buffalo State afforded the team a 25-12 win in the third set.

Three players led the Bengals with four kills apiece, and two tallied four digs each. Kaden Strong hit seven of Buffalo State's aces in the match.

vs. #20 Thiel: L, 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-14)

The Celtics hit their best percentage of the season so far with .204 against No. 20-ranked Thiel in the next match of the day. The Tomcats hit .257 with 18 service aces.

Campana and Caio Matos Machado (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Bishop Guilfoyle HS) struck five kills each, while Fernandez and David Valentino (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional HS) picked up four digs apiece. McLain recorded two solo blocks in the effort. Across both matches, Ryan Callahan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area HS) led Carlow with 23 total assists.

Carlow tied the score twice early in the first set before three Thiel errors put the Celtics ahead, 8-6. The Tomcats tied the game at 8- and 9-all before two errors and a kill from Machado put Carlow up, 12-9.

A service error handed the ball back to Thiel, and a 7-3 run for the Tomcats saw the Celtics trailing, 16-15. Carlow later trailed 21-20 and 22-21 before a service error and a kill gave Thiel a 24-21 advantage. A Tomcats service error kept Carlow in the game, but Thiel ended the set 25-22 with a kill.

The Celtics tied the game three times to start the second set before a 6-3 run put them ahead, 13-10. A subsequent 8-1 run gave the Tomcats a 21-16 advantage, and Thiel ended the set 25-19 with a kill and back-to-back aces.

A marginal Carlow lead was quickly extinguished with an 8-3 run that gave Thiel a 15-9 lead in the third set. The Tomcats ended the set on a 10-2 run to win the set, 25-14, and the match.

Ezra Oesterling led the Tomcats with a game-high eight kills and four digs. Sam Draa tallied four of Thiel's aces.

The Celtics host Mount Aloysius for a 7 p.m. AMCC match Feb. 10.