BEVERLY, MASS.—Top-seeded Endicott College (21-3) defeated the fourth-seeded SUNY Potsdam men's volleyball team (12-7) 3-0 in the New England Volleyball Conference Semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Gulls used a late run in set one to hold off the Bears 25-20. Junior middle hitter Jack Orrange (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) had three kills, while graduate student Matt Kilinski (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs), senior middle hitter Mike Kilinski (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) and freshman right side Brayden Kilinski (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) each had two.
• Set two played out much the same, with Endicott picking up a 25-21 win and a 2-0 lead. Matt Kilinski had six kills and senior outside hitter Duncan Tenhagen (Buffalo, N.Y./West Seneca West) added five.
• The Gulls broke a 15-15 tie with a 10-3 run to take set three 25-18 and close out the match 3-0. Tenhagen and Matt Kilinski each had four kills.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Matt Kilinski led the Bears with 12 kills and two blocks. Tenhagen had 10 kills, three digs and a block. Orrange recorded five kills and two blocks and Mike Kilinski contributed four kills and two blocks.
• Junior setter Alex Lombardo (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) had 32 assists and five digs. Freshman libero Rowan Root (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) totaled six digs.
• Aidan Iacovelli paced Endicott with 17 kills and five blocks. Jack Laborde had 14 kills and Matty Tiernan registered 42 assists for the hosts.

 
WRAPUP

• The Bears posted their fourth consecutive winning season and have a 64-43 record over the span for a .598 winning percentage.
• Potsdam has earned a postseason bid in five straight seasons and has reached the conference semifinals three times in the last four years.
• Tenhagen closes out his career with the program's career kills (925), single-match kills (29), career service ace (129), career digs (654), career matches played (104) and career sets played (358) records. He's also a two-time second team All-NEVC selection.
• Matt Kilinski finished his career with the program's second most career kills with 868. He is Potsdam's career solo blocks (55), single-season solo blocks (27) and career total blocks (127) record holder and established the single season mark for kills-per-set (3.80) this Spring. Matt was the NEVC Athlete of the Year last season, first team All-NEVC this season and last season and was second team in 2024.
•  Mike Kilinski was second team All-NEVC this season after setting the single-season record for hitting percentage (.380) and blocks-per-set (0.89). He also owns the program's career hitting percentage at .374.
• With a season to play, Lombardo already owns the career assists (1720), single-match assists (61), career assists percentage (.434), single-season assists percentage (.450) and single-season assists-per-set (9.37) records. He was named to the NEVC Sportsmanship Team this season.
• In his first season, Root has already set the single-season digs (248), single-match digs (24) as well as the career and single-season digs-per-set (3.35) records.
• Along with Matt Kilinski and Tenhagen, senior outside hitter Dylan Murray (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island) completed his career today. He finishes with 36 kills, 11 assists, five aces, 43 digs and two blocks in 35 matches.