Men’s Volleyball kicks off weekend tri-match with loss to host SUNY Potsdam

POTSDAM, N.Y. --- Carlow University men's volleyball lost a 3-0 contest to host SUNY Potsdam on the road Friday night.

The Celtics (0-10) fell to the 11-7 Bears, 25-13, 25-16 and 25-16.

Gavin McLain (Acworth, Ga./North Paulding HS) led Carlow with three kills and two solo blocks on the night. Jaden Michalski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) and David Valentino (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional HS) added three digs apiece, and Ryan Callahan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area HS) contributed seven assists and two service aces.

Potsdam led 10-5 to start off the first set before putting together a 6-1 run to extend its advantage to 10 points. A few Bears errors kept Carlow in the game, but Potsdam won the first set, 25-13.

The Celtics took the lead to start the second set after back-to-back aces from Callahan set off a 5-0 run for Carlow that put them up, 5-1. The Bears quickly responded with five unanswered points of their own to regain the lead. Morgan Shriver (Taylorstown, Pa./McGuffey HS) and Luke Campana (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin HS) each landed kills to keep Carlow close before a 5-2 run saw the Celtics trailing by six. A service error and two Bears aces in a row gave Potsdam a 23-14 lead enroute to a 25-16 victory.

Potsdam jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the third set. Trailing by 10, the Celtics strung together a 7-3 run, down 23-16. Back-to-back kills by the Bears, however, won the set and secured the sweep for Potsdam.

Benson Jovel-Truong led the Bears with a game-high six kills, while Jesse Schwartz added five digs and four aces. Darius Dorsey-Rhule also contributed four of Potsdam's 18 service aces on the night.

The Celtics face Potsdam again today at noon and compete against SUNY Poly in the 2 p.m. match to conclude the trip.