LANCASTER PA. - The SUNY Poly men's volleyball season ended on Saturday in the NEAC Championship Semi-final game against Wells. The Wildcats lost the game 3-0 to Wells in the game 15-25, 20-25, 25-27. The Wildcats 2019 season was one that will be remembered for the record-breaking performances and impressive milestones that were reached.
THE GAME:
The Wildcats fell to Wells in three sets. The Express hit .272 as a team while the Wildcats hit .202. Service aces were a factor for Wells who had 10 in the match. The Wildcats tried to combat the scoring on the block, but their 14 block assists were not enough to thwart the Wells attack. Donovan Suguitan (Clifton Park, N.Y.) led the Wildcats with eight kills on 22 swings. He also had four digs and a block assist. Garrett Hassard (Oneonta, N.Y.) and Connor Schultz (Lancaster, N.Y.) each had six kills in the match. Hassard had a game-high four block assists. The attacking trio of Caden O'Loughlin, Robert Patzer, and Joe Zimmerman accounted for 29 of Wells's 41 kills. O'Loughlin had a game-high 11 kills. Patzer and Zimmerman had nine each. Brian Malsan (Slingerlands, N.Y.) had a team-high eight digs in the match and had a kill. Piotr Kasza (Queens, N.Y.) had 25 assists, six digs, and three block assists. Max Szuba (Irondequoit, N.Y.) had five kills, a service ace, and three digs.
THE SEASON:
This season was a memorable one for the Wildcats. SUNY Poly had four players named to the NEAC All-Conference Teams. Brian Malsan and Piotr Kasza were both first-team selections. Max Szuba and Donovan Suguitan were named to the second team. The Wildcats also saw Brian Malsan named the NEAC Defensive Player of the year after recording 252 digs for the Wildcats. The 'Cats were the #3 seed in the NEAC postseason after posting a 7-3 record in NEAC play.
Wildcat Libero Brian Malsan who was named NEAC Defensive Player of the Year and a NEAC First Team All-Conference selection also set the program record in career digs in 2019. His digs record stands at a lofty 878.
Max Szuba became just the second player in the history of the Wildcat men's volleyball program to reach the 1,000 kill mark. He finishes his career ranked second all-time with 1,128 career kills. He also ends his career ranked third in service aces with 96.
Piotr Kasza finished out his Wildcat career ranked fourth in career assists with 1305 and ranks 10th in block assists with 78.
Ryan Gloff ends his career at SUNY Poly as the all-time service aces leader. He has amassed 121 in four years with the Wildcats. Gloff also ranks fourth in career kills with 772.
Donovan Suguitan had a great season for the Wildcats. He finished with a team-high 259 kills in 2019.
Garrett Hassard had a solid season for the Wildcats. His 14 solo blocks this season rank eighth all-time. He is fifth all-time with a .305 hitting percentage in his career after hitting .358 this season.
Matthew Russo (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) also made his mark on the record book this season. The freshman had a team-high 64 block assists which is good for second all-time in single-season block assists. He also had a team-high 75 total blocks this season which is the fifth best single-season total in program history.
Coach Katie LaClaire led her team to a 16-13 overall record this season. Her career record now stands at 30-28 with a 13-4 NEAC record.
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SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York's globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem, formed from the merger of the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany location 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/Rome location. 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 over 300 corporate partners since its inception. For information visit www.sunypoly.edu.