MARCY, N.Y. - This past weekend, the Wildcats hosted a non-league, six-team invite at which the Wildcats played three matches against St. Joseph's (L.I.), Wilkes, and Rivier. The Wildcats went 2-1 in the three matches beating St. Joseph's and Wilkes while losing in five sets to #12 ranked Rivier.
The Wildcats played well in all three matches hitting on average .331 and having 159 total kills on 328 swings. The Wildcats had their second highest block total of the season against Wilkes with 14 block assists and a solo block for a total of eight blocks.
In the team's first match, The Wildcats beat the St. Joseph's Golden Eagles in three sets on Friday 25-22, 26-24, 25-21. The Wildcats hit .384 in the match and had three blocks. Ryan Gloff (Brockport, N.Y.) had a nice match. The sophomore had a match high 11 kills and hit .320 on 25 attempts. He also had three digs and an assist. Max Szuba (Irondequoit, N.Y.) had 10 kills in the match and had a service ace, an assist, 1.5 blocks, and a match high 12 digs. Connor Schultz (Lancaster, N.Y.) had nine kills on 15 swings for a hitting percentage of .467. Schultz also had a service ace and three digs. Zach Goggin (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had a match high two service aces and a match high 36 assists.
The Wildcats celebrated their senior day during their first match on Saturday. The Wildcats honored two seniors, Nick Hagen (Hilton, N.Y.) and Bobby Nilsen (Bohemia, N.Y.) in the pre-game ceremony. The two seniors have been with the Wildcats since 2014 and have had a big impact on the recent success of the program. The two seniors had solid outings in the 3-1 win over Wilkes. Nilsen had a team high nine kills on 20 swings and had a service ace, five digs, and four block assists. Hagen had eight kills on 11 swing, hitting a match high .636. Hagen also had a service ace, two block assists, and two digs. Brian Malsan (Slingerlands, N.Y.) had a team high 10 digs and an assist. Zach Goggin had another 36 assists, hit .333 on nine swings, and had three block assists. The set scores for the match were 25-13, 27-25, 13-25, 26-24.
The final match of the weekend for the Wildcats looked like it was going to be a 0-3 loss to #12 Rivier, but in the third set, the Wildcats stepped up and won 25-23. The Wildcats would keep the pressure on the Raiders with a fourth set win 25-22 to force a deciding fifth set. The battle continued into the fifth set where the Raiders would narrowly win the match 15-13. Ryan Gloff had a very nice stat line in the match. The sophomore tied a match high with 17 kills and hit an impressive .467. Max Szuba and Connor Schultz also had double-digit kill totals. Szuba had 15 kills on 39 swings. Schultz had 11 kills on 14 swings. Zach Goggin had a season high 53 assists in the match and hit .500 on six swings. Nick Hagen hit a team best .636 with 8 kills on 11 attacks. Brian Malsan and Piotr Kasza (Mechowiev, Poland) each had a match high 10 digs.
The Wildcats are now 9-10 on the season and are 4-1 in the NEAC. The Wildcats next 11 matches are all Conference matchups. The Wildcats will take to the road for a crossover at Keuka next weekend where they will take on D'Youville, Hilbert, and Medaille. The Wildcats first match of the weekend will be on Saturday at 2:00 PM.
