POTSDAM, N.Y.—After capturing the No. 2 seed in the New England Volleyball Conference Tournament, the SUNY Potsdam men's volleyball team (18-7, 5-1 NEVC) will square off with No. 3 Endicott College (13-11, 4-2) on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the semifinals. The Bears earned their first ever bye in the tournament. The Gulls defeated sixth-seeded Russell Sage College 3-0 in last night's quarterfinals. Top-seeded Nichols College is hosting the semifinal and championship rounds in Dudley, Mass. this weekend.
 
Potsdam has reached the postseason in each of its first four full seasons and is making its second appearance in the conference semis in three years. The Bears are riding a program record win streak of 12 games into the tournament and have set single-season records for overall and conference wins. On Tuesday, senior middle hitter Matt Kilinski (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) was named the NEVC Athlete of the Year and a member of the all-conference first team. Sixth-year head coach Josh Stokes earned his first NEVC Coach of the Year honor. Junior outside hitter Duncan Tenhagen (Buffalo, N.Y./West Seneca West) claimed a spot on the conference's second team and sophomore libero Jack Orrange (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) was named to the NEVC All-Sportsmanship team.
 
While there are many unsung contributors on this Potsdam team, Kilinski and Tenhagen are more than deserving of their accolades. The Kilinski leads the team in kills (240) and is second in service aces (25) and digs (121). He ranks third in the NEVC in kills-per-set (3.20) and seventh in kills. Kilinski is Potsdam's all-time blocks (165) and solo blocks (51) leader and ranks second in kills-per-set (2.43). He ranks third on the program's all-time list in kills (627) and aces (66) and is seventh in digs (210). Tenhagen leads the team in digs (163) and is second in kills (209). He ranks seventh and 10th in the NEVC in those respective categories. Tenhagen is Potsdam's all-time service ace leader (106) and is second in kills (668), digs (530) and digs-per-set (1.89). He holds the Bears record for kills in a five-set match (29) and a three-set match (19).
 
New addition, junior middle hitter Mike Kilinski (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) leads the Bears and the NEVC with a .370 hitting percentage. He is third on the team in kills (129) and second blocks (44). Kilinski has also recorded 12 aces and 39 digs this season. Freshman middle hitter Christopher Wong (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont) made an immediate impact on the Bears lineup this season. On January 18, he set a program record with 10 blocks in a 3-2 win over Wilkes, earning the first of three NEVC Rookie of the Week honors this season. Wong ranks third in the conference in blocks-per-set (0.67) and leads Potsdam with 53 blocks and 25 service aces. He is also fourth in kills (117) and eighth in digs (58). Sophomore setter Alex Lombardo (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) has had a special season. He ranks third in the NEVC in assists with 671 and fourth in assists-per-set (8.39). In a critical 3-2 victory over SUNY Poly on March 22, Lombardo set the Bears' single-match record for assists with 61. He earned conference athlete of the week honors on March 4. The setter is also third on the team in digs (103), fourth in blocks (22) and had 26 kills and 13 service aces. Freshman right side Charlie Cherchio (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) was another key piece of the lineup in his debut campaign. He had a program record four solo blocks in the win over SUNY Poly and claimed NEVC Rookie of the Week honors for his efforts. Cherchio is third in blocks (33) and fourth in kills (67) as well as contributing 15 service aces and 61 digs.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Darius Dorsey-Rhule (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont) has played in every match so far this season with 12 starts. He has 62 kills, 93 digs, 18 blocks, 12 aces and eight assists. Sophomore middle hitter Benson Jovel-Truong (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) totaled 34 kills, 43 digs, 15 assists, nine blocks and seven aces in 16 matches with five starts. Freshman opposite/setter Liam Yusko (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) has seen action in 14 matches, posting 27 kills, 124 assists, 22 digs, eight aces and four blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Dylan Murray (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island) has 19 kills, 20 digs, three aces, three assists and two blocks in 14 matches this spring. Sophomore middle hitter Connor McGovern (Henrietta, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta) gave the Bears 18 kills, 13 digs, eight aces, five assists and three blocks. Sophomore outside hitter/libero Calum Anderson (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) has played in 23 matches this season, posting a career-high 75 digs, 18 kills and four aces. Orrange has seen action in 24 of the Bears' 25 contests. He is fourth on the team in digs with a career-high 95 and also has 10 kills, nine assists, three blocks and two aces. Sophomore outside hitter Jesse Schwartz (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland), freshman outside hitter Alexander Bholasing (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) and freshman libero Jeremiah Melendez (Bronx, N.Y./All Hallows) have each given the Bears quality play off the bench in 2025.
 
Endicott enters the post season with two NEVC first team selections and one on the second team. First team junior outside hitter Aidan Iacovelli leads the Endicott offense and the conference with 293 kills as well as 127 digs, 10 aces and 13 blocks. Graduate student right side Corey Klass Jr., a fellow first teamer, has 181 kills, 54 digs, 19 aces and 43 blocks. Freshman middle blocker Jackson Gray earned a spot on the second team while totaling 139 kills, 34 digs, 11 aces and 39 blocks. Junior outside hitter Jake Laborde has recorded 139 kills, 25 aces, nine blocks and nine assists. Sophomore setter Matty Tiernan compiled 742 assists to go with 93 digs, 14 aces, 14 blocks and 11 kills. Junior libero Adin Jepsky leads the Gulls with 141 digs along with 29 assists. Freshman middle blocker Thomas Matchett leads the NEVC with 67 blocks. He also has 85 kills, 12 digs and seven aces.
 
The Bears took a 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-16) decision from Endicott in Maxcy Field House on March 14. Potsdam jumped on the Gulls early and never let their opponent's offense get going. Matt Kilinski had 15 kills and Tenhagen added 11 kills and three aces. Lombardo contributed 35 assists and Mike Kilinski finished with six kills and three blocks. Iacovelli led Endicott with 13 kills and a block. Tiernan gave the Gulls 24 assists.
 
The teams met in the 2023 semifinals at Endicott with the Gulls claiming a 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 15-25, 25-15) victory en route to a conference title.
 
The victor faces the winner of the No. 1 Nichols – No. 4 SUNY Poly semifinal in Sunday's 1 p.m. NEVC Championship match.
 
Follow the contest live here:
Live Stats: https://nicholsathletics.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
Live Video: https://cnesportsnet.com/ncbison/