Men’s Volleyball finishes season strong in final fall tournament
The men’s club volleyball team ended their fall season with some impressive play at their final tournament of the semester last weekend, hosted by 12-time state champion and 2-time conference champion SUNY Brockport. The 12-team tournament was the second hosted by Brockport this season; the first was a massive 16-team competition in Oct., which saw the Knights walking away with two of three bracket championship titles, their first in organization history. Competition on Sunday included plenty of familiar teams, all of which are conference competitors that Geneseo will face in the spring season: Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the University of Rochester (U of R), Niagara University, and Western NY Division I powerhouse University at Buffalo, as well as a team from SUNY Oneonta, who Geneseo has not competed against before.
Both Geneseo A and B were met with some difficult matchups in their pool play on Sunday. Geneseo A faced off with Brockport B, U of R, and Buffalo A. They had a strong start to the day, dominating Brockport B 25-16 and 25-12. They then rode that momentum into their matchup against U of R, and took them down in a close first set, winning 25-23, and a stronger second set, winning it 25-11. Geneseo A unfortunately met their match in their last pool game of the day against Buffalo A, who went undefeated in pool play, losing 25-10 and 25-14. Although their last pool match was a tough one, the A team was still able to finish +12 for their pool play. Geneseo B was faced with some difficult competition as well, being placed in a pool with RIT A, Oneonta, and Niagara A. They had a rough start to their pool play, losing to RIT in two close sets (25-17 and 25-20). The B team then played Niagara A for the first time, following Geneseo A’s heartbreaking loss to them at their November tournament in Buffalo, and held their own; they ultimately lost to them, but put up an incredible fight (25-18 and 25-19). Geneseo B then brought it back to end their pool play on a high note, taking down new competitor Oneonta 25-22 and 25-19, and bringing them to -17 overall.
The hosts decided on an unorthodox playoff layout, making a pre-quarterfinal and quarterfinal round 1 set to 30 points. Geneseo B finished with the eight-seed, matching them up against 9 seed U of R, and Geneseo A took the three-seed, giving them a pre-quarter bye and matching them up against the winner of six-seed Brockport A and 11-seed Niagara B. Geneseo B put in the work against U of R, trying their absolute hardest but falling to them 30-21. Geneseo A ended up facing off with Brockport A, and went head to head for almost the entire match, tied up until the final few points and ultimately falling to them 26-30.
Geneseo A was somewhat content to wrap up the tournament tied for fourth place with RIT A and B, but had hopes of a higher finish.
“We’ve been really determined this semester to show the other schools in our conference that we’re here to compete and we’re here to stay, and I think we did just that,” said club president and senior middle Dan Palant. “I set really high expectations for our team after our performance at UB last month, and while we might not be happy with where we ended up on Sunday, I’m really proud of how the guys played and how they stepped it up to finish strong.”
Palant also credits the successes of the team to the leadership of his fellow seniors, naming A team starting middle Gavin Hoey as one of the biggest sources of the team’s energy; “I’d like to thank Gavin for his commitment and his passion for the team. Everyone will be sad to see him go when he graduates this month,” Palant said.
The men’s club volleyball team looks forward to the coming spring conference season and encourages all interested prospective members to follow the team’s Instagram @geneseomvb for updates regarding February tryouts.