MARCY, N.Y. – The SUNY Poly men's volleyball team hosted their annual Wildcats Men's Volleyball Invitational this past weekend. The Wildcats hosted seven teams for a total of 14 matches over a two day period. The Wildcats went 2-2 in their four matches, including two wins on day two against D'Youville and Thiel.
In their first match of the weekend, the Wildcats fell in three sets to Elms College 23-25, 19-25, 24-26. Elms College finished the tournament a perfect 4-0. The Wildcats hit .123 as a team in the match with 32 kills on 106 swings.
Donovan Suguitan (Clifton Park, N.Y.) led the attack for the Wildcats, hitting .286 with 12 kills on 28 swings. Suguitan also had a team high nine digs and a block assist.
Garrett Hassard (Oneonta, N.Y.) had six kills, four digs, a solo block and a block assist for the Wildcats.
Max Szuba (Irondequoit, N.Y.) and Matthew Russo (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) each had five kills in the match. Russo had a team high four block assists.
The Wildcats lost their second match of the tournament to Geneva 3-1. The Wildcats struggled on the attack hitting just .037 in the match. The final set scores were 20-25, 18-25, 26-24, 19-25.
Lorenzo Kwolek (Glenville, N.Y.) had a team high 11 kills in the match, setting a new career high. He also had eight digs and a service ace.
Tyler Carpenter (Rochester, N.Y.) had eight kills, two service aces, and five blocks in the match; all career highs.
Andrew Bertino (Spencerport, N.Y.) had a game high 12 digs in the match. He also had three assists and a kill.
In their third match of the weekend, the Wildcats took down D'Youville in three sets. The Wildcats played a great match, battling hard in the first set to win 31-29. In the second set, the 'Cats dominated. They hit .318 as a team to secure a convincing 25-16 win. The third and final set was a bit closer with a score of 25-20. SUNY Poly hit .253 as a team and had seven total blocks. The team also held the edge with six service aces and 26 digs.
Max Szuba had a match high 12 klills on 26 swings for a hitting percentage of .308.
Piotr Kasza (Queens, N.Y.) had 35 assists in the win. The senior also had a service ace, four digs, a solo block, and a block assist.
Donovan Suguitan Had 10 kills in the match with a .294 hitting percentage.
Brian Malsan (Slingerlands, N.Y.) had a match high eight digs in the match.
The Wildcats played a barn burner with Thiel in their final match of the weekend. SUNY Poly came away with a 3-1 win, but every match was tightly contested and exciting to watch. The Wildcats had a season high seven service aces in the match and hit just shy of .200 as a team. The final set scores were 24-26, 25-19, 25-22, 29-27.
Connor Schultz (Lancaster, N.Y.) had his best match of the season. He was dominant on the attack and played extremely efficient. The junior hit .462 with 16 kills on 26 swings. He also had three digs and a block assist.
Donovan Suguitan had 13 kills on 35 swings. He had seven digs, and a service ace.
Piotr Kasza had a season high 40 assists in the match. He was also very active at the net, recording a pair of solo blocks and a block assist. He also had seven digs.
The Wildcats will host Sage College in a non-conference match at SUNY Poly's Wildcat Field House. The match is scheduled for a 6:00 PM start on Wednesday January 30th. In the last meeting between these two teams, the Wildcats walked away with a 3-0 win on the road.