POTSDAM, N.Y.---The SUNY Potsdam men's volleyball team (11-6, 4-3 NEVC) will host Russell Sage College (13-16, 4-3) in the New England Volleyball Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Jerry Welsh Gymnasium. The Bears earned the fourth seed in the eight-team bracket and the Gators are the fifth seed. The winner advances to top-seeded Endicott College (20-3, 7-0) in Beverly, Mass. for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. semifinal.
 
Potsdam is making its fifth consecutive postseason appearance. The Bears finished the regular season strong, winning five of their last seven matches to close out the regular season. Potsdam went 2-2 in its final four conference games to finish tied with Russell Sage at 4-3 in the NEVC, with the Bears claiming the higher seed due to a head-to-head sweep of the Gators on March 14.
 
The offense runs through two Kilinskis and senior outside hitter Duncan Tenhagen (Buffalo, N.Y./West Seneca West). Graduate student middle hitter Matt Kilinski (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) leads the NEVC with 3.85 kills-per-set and owns a .268 hitting percentage with 204 kills, 94 digs, 12 service aces and 13 blocks in 53 sets. Senior middle hitter Mike Kilinski (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs), leads the NEVC with a .390 hitting percentage and is third in the conference in blocks-per-set (0.91) and fourth in blocks (61). Mike has 133 kills, 35 digs, and 15 aces. Senior outside hitter Duncan Tenhagen (Buffalo, N.Y./West Seneca West) leads the team in kills (212) and is third in digs (101) while hitting .278. He also has 23 service aces.
 
Freshman right side/outside hitter Brayden Kilinski (Greenfield Center, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) rounds out the family trio with 76 kills, 67 digs, eight aces and 19 blocks. Junior setter Alex Lombardo (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) leads the NEVC in assists-per-set at 9.18 and is fourth in assists with 597. He has also totaled 112 digs, 13 aces and 16 blocks. Freshman libero Rowan Root (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) is second in the conference in digs-per-set (3.45) and third in digs (228). Junior right side Benson Jovel-Truong (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) has contributed 29 kills, seven digs, five aces and eight blocks. Junior outside hitter/libero Jack Orrange (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) has 63 kills, 24 digs and 29 blocks in 61 sets. Sophomore setter Shane Goldberg (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) has been solid in his first season with the Bears, totaling 39 kills, 77 assists, 47 digs, four aces and 12 blocks. Junior outside hitter Calum Anderson (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) has also provided quality contributions off the bench with 13 kills, four aces and 19 digs.
 
Russell Sage enters the tournament having dropped 10 of its last 14 matches but went 4-3 in conference play to earn the fifth seed. The Gators are led by junior opposite Dylan Fox (Albany, N.Y./Colonie), who paces the offense with 291 kills (2.94 per set), 147 digs, 20 service aces and 40 blocks. Sophomore outside hitter John Lindheimer III (Albany, N.Y./Colonie) has added 233 kills (2.59 per set), 130 digs and 21 aces. Senior outside hitter Sean Pingelski (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) contributed 224 kills (2.20 per set) and 133 digs.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Evan Devine (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) leads the team at the net with 45 total blocks (0.56 per set) while hitting .357, third-best in the NEVC. Senior middle blocker Marcus Gentile (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) has 96 kills, 47 blocks and 21 aces. Graduate student middle blocker Wylkins Occelin (Brooklyn, N.Y./John Dewey) has 73 kills and 31 blocks. Sophomore setter Anthony Guetti (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) ranks third in the NEVC in aces-per-set (0.37) with 40 on the season while distributing 964 assists — third in the conference at 8.93 per set. Junior outside hitter Spencer Cooper (Albany, N.Y./Colonie) registered 77 kills and 101 digs while freshman libero Eliseo Nogueras III (Pawtucket, R.I./LaSalle Academy) anchors the back row with a team-high 180 digs.
 
When the teams met in Maxcy Hall last month, the Bears claimed a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-23) decision. Matt Kilinski dominated with 15 kills on a .444 hitting percentage and Tenhagen added 10 kills. Lombardo ran the offense with 34 assists. Mike Kilinski anchored the middle with eight kills and a solo block. For Russell Sage, Pingelski and Lindheimer each had 10 kills and Fox had nine kills with a .450 hitting percentage.
 
Admission to Wednesday's contest is free.
 
Follow the contest live here:
Live Stats: https://potsdambears.com/sidearmstats/mvball/summary
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