The Buffalo State Bengals men’s volleyball team hosted the Buffalo State Tri-Match, a three-team tournament, on Feb. 7 in the Sports Arena.

The Bengals welcomed the 0-9 Carlow Celtics, traveling in from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as the 7-4 Thiel Tomcats, who came in from Greenville, Pennsylvania.

Buffalo State entered the tournament with a perfect 7-0 record and some leftover cardinal meat on the team’s paws after pulling out a five-set win over St. John Fisher the night before.

The first matchup of the day was the Bengals vs the Celtics. The sounds of squeaky shoes and muffled sideline conversations echoed through the gym during a quiet first match. The single-digit temperature outside took some of the blame for that.

The first set acted as a welcome to our house for Carlow. The Bengals got off to a dominating start, allowing little to no volleys.

After every Bengals point, the squad chanted-

SIUUUUU

The celebration made popular by famous soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo has made its way to volleyball. Buffalo State was bringing the energy early, ending the first set quickly with a score of 25-9.

The second set was different. Carlow began to warm up and got into a rhythm, sending the ball back the Bengals way more often than not.

This set truly showcased why volleyball is so great, and the reason is simple. The volleys!

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Silence.

Smack! The ball is suddenly sent flying back over the net as players slid on the gym floor.

Though a tougher set for Buffalo State, the squad prevailed with a 25-17 victory in set two.

With the Celtics on the ropes, the Bengals delivered a few finishing blows, skyrocketing to a 10-0 lead to start the third set. For every point the Celtics would put up, the Bengals would then double it.

Buffalo State’s sideline turned into the Buffalo State Chorale, joyously singing before each serve. The off-court antics were an entire second form of entertainment throughout the tournament.

The Bengals cruised to victory in the third and final set by a score of 25-12. Head Coach Daniel Miranda and his squad couldn’t have asked for a better start to the tournament than a 3-0 victory over the Celtics.

Buffalo State was set to rest and prepare for their final game against the Tomcats, but first, Carlow and Thiel had to square off in the second game of the day.

The Celtics and Tomcats match was much more of a competitive matchup, with each set being back and forth.

Set one and two saw Thiel squeeze out wins with scores of 25-22 and 25-19. One or two plays the other way, and Carlow would’ve taken at least one of these sets.

The third and ultimately final set was tight, but the Tomcats clawed away as they looked to complete the 3-0 sweep.

Thiel was singing, dancing, and making jokes on the sideline. They were talking the talk and walking the walk simultaneously; the guys were having a blast.

Carlow was showing signs that they were fading. A riled-up Celtic even kicked the ball, killing a live volley. Thiel was ready to close things out.

“Next person to chirp sits,” Celtics head coach Stephen Smietana said to his guys. “Just play volleyball.”

The Tomcats used the coach’s words as trash talk fuel as they defeated Carlow in the third set by a score of 25-14. Carlow was sent home with a second loss today, leaving the squad now 0-11.

It was hard not to root for Carlow as the winless team went up against Thiel. With a group of only 10 players, they came into enemy territory and played hard.

For the first two games of the day, artificial energy was pumped through the gym’s stereo system in the form of electronic dance music, which had the two dozen heads that were there bobbing. But for this third and final game of the day, the energy was in the air naturally.

The stands began to flood with fans leading up to the 3 p.m. start as the Bengals and Tomcats warmed up on the court.

The first set was unlike any of the previous sets in the entire tournament. Chirps were flying back and forth from sideline to sideline just as fast as the ball was in the game.

Spike after spike, Thiel started to pull away, going on a five-point streak late in the set, but Buffalo State fought back to keep things close. Fans were on the edge of their seats, not only because the seats aren’t the most comfortable, but the two teams were neck and neck!

Thiel took the first set by a score of 25-20. The intensity emitted from this win let all the folks in the stands know they were in for a treat.

Buffalo State was not messing around when it came to the start of the second set, as the team shot to a 7-0 lead quickly. This wide margin was shrunken to nothing as the Tomcats fought back to take a 17-16 lead, the squad’s first of the set.

After 11 more lead changes, the Bengals found a way to get one back on Thiel, winning the second set 25-23. It was now 1-1 heading into the third set.

This one was even all the way through. Spikes were being hit harder, and it felt like some anger and frustration were going into these hits. The game remained close and chippy.

Volleys lasted what felt like minutes, and after clutch moments from Bengals players Xzavier Vanderstouw and Gavin Wilczewski, the third set was won by a score of 25-20. Another nailbiter, which gave Buffalo State a 2-1 lead in the match.

Miscues and sloppy play put the Bengals in a tough spot to start the fourth set. With a chance to send the Tomcats home, the team couldn’t put anything together early.

The Thiel sideline trash talk seemed to be working. The Tomcats have to have some of the most coordinated trash talk in all of college sports. It was like they were all under the control of a hivemind as the cluster on the sideline yelled and chanted as one.

If you closed your eyes, the only way you’d know you were at a Bengals volleyball game and not in a mess hall at Boy Scout summer camp was the sound of volleyballs ricocheting off people’s arms. It was hard not to chuckle at some of the insults being thrown.

The end of the set brought the best out of each team, trading shots like they were in the midst of a battle. Four sets proved not to be enough for the Bengals to close up shop on the tournament. After losing by a score of 20-25, the game sat at 2-2. This next set meant everything.

Now, in the fifth and final set of a volleyball game, the score only goes up to 15, so a hot start can bring home a win.

Buffalo State scored four, then Thiel scored four. After some controversy with the referee and 15 lead changes later, Buffalo State was down 13-14 with the game on the line.

The serve from the Bengals went up and over the net, initiating a small volley. The entire crowd leaned forward, anxious as the game could be decided here.

SLAP.

The sound of the devastating spike from Tomcats player Ezra Oesterling put the game away, winning Thiel the set 15-13 and the game 3-2.

The Bengals tack on a one in the loss column but improve to 8-1 overall after what was a great day of volleyball at the Buffalo State Tri-Match.

Buffalo State will put this loss behind them as they have a date with the Houghton Highlanders on Tuesday and the Nazareth Golden Flyers on Wednesday.

If you are interested in watching a video documenting the experience at the game, click here!