ELMIRA, N.Y. -  The SUNY Poly men's volleyball team wrapped up their 2017 regular season this past Saturday  on the road in a tri-match against Nazareth and Elmira. The Wildcats lost both matches, the first in four sets to Nazareth and the second in five sets to Elmira.

MATCH 1

The Wildcats lost the first match of the tri-match to Nazareth 3-1 (25-23, 15-21, 21-25, 16-25). The Wildcats took the first set of the match, but fell in the second set giving the Golden Flyers the momentum they needed to win. The Wildcats hit .86 as a team in the match while Nazareth hit .286.

Max Szuba (Irondequoit, N.Y.) had a match high 11 kills in the match. The sophomore also had a service ace, five digs and a block assist.

Connor Schultz (Lancaster, N.Y.) had eight kills in the match, had a dig, and two block assists.

Piotr Kasza (Mechowiev, Poland) had a team high four block assists in the match. Kasza also had 12 assists and four kills.

For Nazareth, Sam Bittker and Ethan Ross each had a team high nine kills. Bittker also had a team high four block assists and a solo block. Tom Keisling had a match high eight digs and had seven kills. Jake Kemp had a match high 43 assists.

MATCH 2

In the Wildcats second match of the day, the team went down 0-2 in the first two sets (12-25, 19-25) before battling back into the match with wins in the third and fourth sets 25-19 and 25-22 to force a deciding fifth set. The Wildcats, unfortunately, could not complete the 0-2 comeback. The Soaring Eagles won the fifth set 15-9. The Wildcats hit .176 in the match and had eight total blocks to the Eagles seven.

Connor Schultz finished the match with a team high 10 kills, hitting .273 on 22 swings.

Robert Nilsen (Bohemia, N.Y.) had nine kills on 17 swings (.471) and had one solo block and a block assist.

Derek Connelly (Oneida, N.Y.) had a career high 12 digs in the match. Connelly also had there kills, three service aces, and a solo block.

Zach Goggin (Feeding Hills Mass.) and Piotr Kasza combined for 35 assists; 20 and 15 respectively. Goggin tied with Connelly for a team high three service aces. Kasza had a service ace and four digs.

For Elmira, Ryan McDonough had a match high 14 kills on 31 swings. He also had a team high eight digs. Mark Kawecki had a match high six service aces, 11 kills, eight digs, and two block assists. Matthew Buffum had 13 kills and a match high seven block assists. Jeremy Best had a match high 42 assists.

With the two losses, the Wildcats end their regular season with an overall record of 16-16 and a conference record of 11-5. The team qualified for the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Post-season last weekend, grabbing the four seed. The Championship Tournament will be held at Penn State Altoona beginning on Friday. The Wildcats will take on the #1 seed Nittany Lions at 4:00 PM.