MARCY, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly men's volleyball team earned a pivotal win over Potsdam on Friday night, winning in straight sets to clinch the #4 seed in the NECC post-season tournament. The Wildcats won the three sets 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 to earn the win. The 3-0 win was exactly what the Wildcats needed to break the tie in the standings to earn the right to host the first round at SUNY Poly's Wildcat Field House. The first-round game is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5th against Potsdam. Game time is currently TBD. 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

Both the Wildcats and the Bears played great volleyball on Friday night, but the Wildcats were just a little better. That little bit was enough to sweep the match and clinch home-court advantage in the first round of the post-season. As a team, the Wildcats hit .340 with 48 kills on 100 swings. Potsdam hit a respectable .286, but had just one service ace, while the Wildcats tallied nine aces in the match. 

The Bears were led by a 14 kill performance by Joe Zimmerman. And had one other player with more than six kills. On the other side of the court, the Wildcats had two players, Tayvon Ward and Jason Aubrey, record 12 kills each in the match. James Mion and Garrett Hassard added eight kills each, and Matthew Russo had six. All of the Wildcat's effective attackers hit above .200 with Mion leading the group(.583). 

The service aces were the biggest advantage for SUNY Poly. Tayvon Ward had three aces. Nathan Farnham and Matthew Russo had two aces apiece. The Wildcat's 9-1 advantage on service was seemingly the difference in the match, which was tightly contested in every other measurable area.  

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES: 

• Tayvon Ward had the best match of his SUNY Poly career. The first-year student had a career-high 12 kills and hit .400. He also matched his career-high with three service aces. 

• Jason Aubrey had 12 kills on 25 attempts and four digs. He is currently leading the Wildcats with 216 kills this season. 

• Potsdam's Joe Zimmerman led all players with a match-high 14 kills on 30 swings. He also had the only service ace for the Bears and had two digs. 

• Nathan Farnham played a great all-around game for his team. The Wildcat setter matched his season-high with 40 assists, had a match-high 10 digs, had two block assists, and recorded a kill. 

• James Mion had an efficient .583 hitting percentage for his team, recording eight kills on 12 swings. He also had a solo block and a block assist. 

• Garrett Hassard had eight kills on 13 swings (.462) with a block assist, a service ace, and two assists. 

• Zaire Rogers had seven kills, four digs, and a block assist for Potsdam. 

• Alec Roy had 27 assists and a team-high eight digs for Potsdam. 

• Matthew Russo had six kills, a pair of aces, and a solo block for the Wildcats.

• SUNY Poly Libero Andrew Bertino was great on serve-receive for the Wildcats and had seven digs in the win.

UP NEXT:

The Wildcats will wrap up their regular season on Saturday, April 2nd with a tri-match at Vassar College. The Wildcats will face host Vassar at 2:00 PM and Baruch at 4:00 PM. 

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SUNY Poly is New York's globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience programs at its Albany campus, and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica campus; thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world's most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts billions of dollars in high-tech investments and hundreds of corporate partners since its inception. For information visit www.sunypoly.edu.