MARCY, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly men's volleyball team won a crazy 3-2 match over SUNY Potsdam in the first round of the NECC Tournament on Tuesday to advance to the semifinal on Thursday. The Wildcats won the game on the block, tallying a record-breaking 21 total blocks to the Bear's six and on the serve with 10 aces to the Bear's six. The final scores of the match were 23-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13.
The match was a back and forth affair with the Bears taking the first and third set while the Wildcats won sets two and four. The match came down to the fifth set, and with the momentum from a fourth set win, the Wildcats closed the door on the match to advance to the semifinal round of the NECC Championship Tournament.
A GAME FOR THE RECORD BOOKS:
The game was a battle between two evenly matched teams who were similar in all but one crucial statistical category; blocking. The Wildcats absolutely shattered the team's single-game total blocks record of 16, set in 2015, by recording an outrageous 21 total blocks on the biggest stage of the season. The Wildcats also tied the team single-game record for solo blocks with nine and were just two block assists shy of the single-game record.
James Mion was the driving force behind the Wildcat's blocking prowess. The sophomore broke the program's single-game total blocks record of 11 with an impressive 13 total blocks. He also tied the single-game block assist record with 10. Both records were set in 2015 by Nick Hagan.
RECORD WATCH:
Garrett Hassard recorded two block assists in the match. He is now just seven block assists shy of the all-time block assists record at SUNY Poly.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
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James Mion had a playoff performance for the ages. The sophomore broke SUNY Poly's single-game total blocks record with 13 blocks (3 solos, 10 assists). He was also lights out on the attack, hitting .429 with 10 kills on 21 swings, and had two service aces.
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Joe Zimmerman was a menace for Potsdam. He had a match-high 24 kills on 52 swings. He also had three service aces.
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Jason Aubrey had 15 kills, a service ace, four block assists, and a pair of digs in the match for the Wildcats.
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Garrett Hassard had nine kills for SUNY Poly. He also had three solo blocks, two block assists, and a match-high four service aces.
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Nathan Farnham set the pace for the Wildcats with 42 assists, a new season-high for the junior. Farnham also dominated the block with three solo blocks and four block assists and was great on defense with eight digs.
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Zaire Rogers had 11 kills for Potsdam with a dig and an assist.
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Matthew Russo had nine kills, a service ace, a block assist, and four digs for SUNY Poly.
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SUNY Poly's Libero Andrew Bertino had a team-high 12 digs in the match.
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Jacob Wicher had 10 digs for the Wildcats.
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Potsdam's Keven Sanchez had a match-high 17 digs and four assists.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will head to Massachusetts on Thursday night to take on the Endicott Gulls in the NECC Semifinal Round. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 PM start.
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