Men’s Volleyball downed in AMCC doubleheader against Buffalo State

PITTSBURGH --- Carlow University men's volleyball hosted Buffalo State University for an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference doubleheader Friday night.

The league-leading Bengals swept the Celtics in both matches, 3-0. The Celtics were notably without Gavin McLain and Luke Campana on the night.

Game 1: L, 25-7, 25-11, 25-15

Buffalo State (17-13, 5-0 AMCC) hit .306, tallied 10 service aces and held Carlow (0-19, 0-5 AMCC) to just eight kills in the first game.

Jaden Michalski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) led the Celtics with three kills and recorded Carlow's lone ace. Connor Smith (Washington, Pa./Trinity HS) added five digs in the effort.

The Bengals hit .524 and jumped out to an 8-0 lead enroute to a decisive 25-7 win in the first set.

Buffalo State scored eight unanswered points to lead 14-4 in the second set before back-to-back errors afforded the Celtics a few. The Bengals won the second set, 25-11.

Carlow went ahead 4-1 to start the third set before Buffalo State quickly tied the game. Later, a bad set and a service ace from Michalski saw the Celtics trailing by four, but the Bengals outscored Carlow 10-4 to end the game and won the set, 25-15.

Xzavier Vanderstouw led Buffalo State with eight kills and nine digs. Jackson Stang accounted for four service aces.

Game 2: L, 25-10, 25-13, 25-18

Carlow battled through the nightcap just 20 minutes after the first game.

Michalski once again led the team with three kills and six digs. Smith recorded the lone service ace, while Caio Matos Machado (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Bishop Guilfoyle HS) picked up two big solo blocks.

The Bengals started the first set 12-0 before the Celtics broke up the barrage with a timeout. An error and a kill by David Valentino (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional HS) put the first two points on the board for the Celtics before Buffalo State secured the 25-10 victory.

Three Bengals errors in a row tied the game at 3-3 in the second set, but eight unanswered points put Buffalo State back up, 11-3. Carlow's first kill of the set from Smith and a subsequent attack error saw the Celtics trailing by four. Carlow kept it close for a few good rallies, but the Bengals finished the set with an 8-1 run to win, 25-13.

A Bengals error, an ace from Smith and a kill by Michalski saw Carlow down one early in the third set. Three Buffalo State errors in a row saw the Celtics trailing by three later in the game until the Bengals shut the door to end the match with a third set victory, 25-18.

Azariah Whittaker led the Bengals with eight kills, and Vanderstouw added nine digs. Cam Ward tallied three of the Bengals' 11 service aces.

The Celtics host Hilbert College for a 1 p.m. AMCC match tomorrow to conclude the regular season.