ROCHESTER, NY – Wittenberg's Men's Volleyball posted a 1-1 record in Saturday's play of the St. John Fisher Invitational at Varsity Gym. 

The Tigers lost their second match in a row, this time at the hands of Buffalo State, but recovered in Match 2 against Penn State Behrend to improve to 4-2 overall on the season.

In a tight match throughout, Wittenberg fell 3-1 to Buffalo State by set scores of 25-20, 27-25, 22-25, and 27-25. 

After five ties in the first set, the Bengals got a kill from Gavin Wilczewski to break an 8-8 tie and never look back en route to the victory. In set two, the two teams traded points and saw 15 ties before Buffalo would get some key blocks and kills again from Wilczewski to top the Tigers.

The tables turned in set three with Wittenberg taking a commanding lead at 21-14. However, Buffalo closed the gap and came within three points before the Tigers would claim the victory. 

With the momentum in their favor, Wittenberg looked as though they would coast to an easy victory taking a 20-12 lead. But Buffalo wouldn't allow it, going on a 10-2 run to tie things at 22-all. It was nip and tuck until the Bengals closed the door on Witt to record the 'W' and improve to 3-2 on the season. Wilczewski led the Bengals with 19 kills, 44 total attacks, five digs and one solo block.

In match two vs. Penn State Behrend, the Tigers quickly and easily defeated the Lions in three sets, 25-14, 25-19, and 25-18. Wittenberg, which gave 15 players some key minutes, led most of the way in all three games and had a dominating attack over the Lions, which dropped to 1-2 on the season.

Team Leaders vs. Buffalo State

• Michael Yurk  (Indianapolis, IN / Bishop Chatard) tallied a team-high 17 points with 13 kills, 33 total attacks, three service aces, nine digs, and one solo block.
• Eli Halverson  (Hamilton, OH / Badin) recorded 13 kills, 14 points, 31 total attacks, 10 digs, and one solo block.
• Sam Richardson  (Akron, OH / Walsh Jesuit) led the team in assists with 30. He also landed two service aces and grabbed eight digs.
• Jake Downs (Cincinnati, OH / Milford) led the team in digs with 11.

Team Comparison vs. Buffalo State

• Team totals included 47 kills for Witt to 51 for the Bengals. 
• Total attacks were close with Buffalo State registering 137 to Witt's 132.
• Wittenberg had 45 assists, while Buffalo State had 47. 
• The Tigers had six solo blocks with Buffalo State registering four. Each team landed eight service aces, and the Bengals held a slight edge in digs, 60-59.  
• This was the first meeting between the two teams.

Team Leaders vs. Penn State Behrend

• Michael Yurk  (Indianapolis, IN / Bishop Chatard) led the team in kills with eight and total attacks, tallying 18. He also had 11 points, two assists, a service ace, three digs, and two solo blocks.
• Harrison Mitchell (Dublin, OH / Scioto) added seven kills, 14 total attacks, a team-high 12 points, a team-high four service aces, and one solo block.
• Carson Hill (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) led the team in assists with 27 and in digs with seven.
• Adam Blair (West Chester, OH / Lakota West) turned in three solo blocks.

Team Comparison vs. Penn State Behrend

• Wittenberg led in all categories against the Lions. 
• The Tigers registered 40 kills, 71 total attacks, 36 assists, seven service aces, 32 digs, and seven solo blocks. 
• Totals for Penn State Behrend included just 20 kills, 73 total attacks, 15 assists, five service aces, 18 digs, and three solo blocks.
• Wittenberg is now 6-0 in the series against Penn State Behrend. The first meeting between the two teams was in 2019.

 Up Next

Wittenberg will host the Jim Coleman Memorial Invitational Friday and Saturday, Jan. 24-25, at Pam Evans Smith Arena, part of the Health, Wellness & Athletics Complex. The Tigers will take on Randolph at 5 p.m. and Loras at 7:30 p.m. Friday, then Southern Virginia at 2:30 p.m. and Edgewood at 5 p.m. on Saturday.