The AMCC Men's Volleyball Championship Tournament kicks off Tuesday evening with first round matchups when #6 Medaille College travels to #3 Hiram College and #4 Penn State Altoona hosts #5 Thiel College. #1 Penn State Behrend and #2 Geneva College will each receive first round byes.
Top-seeded Penn State Behrend (14-2) hit the 20-win mark for the first time in program history. The Lions boast multiple players who rank in the top five in the AMCC in multiple categories. Adrian Martinez leads the conference with 300 total digs and 3.30 digs per set. Owen Wienczkowski is tops in the league with a .448 hitting percentage while Cody Schnur leads with 0.90 blocks per set. JP Goodsel ranks third in the AMCC with 3.40 kills per set.
Second seed Geneva enters the tournament with an 13-3 record. Peter Barbato leads the conference with 348 total kills and 3.55 kills per set, while ranking second in service aces per set with 0.40. Emerson Spear ranks second with 0.88 blocks per set while Carter Milroy is fifth with a .309 hitting percentage.
Hiram College, with a 12-4 record in conference play, has earned the #3 seed in the tournament. Tom Supan leads the Terriers, and ranks third in the AMCC with 220 total digs, while ranking fourth in total kills with 273. Dangelo Boehner sits fourth in the conference with a .317 hitting percentage, while his 0.85 blocks per set are third. Andrew Diaz de Padilla ranks second in the league with 8.16 assists per set.
With an 11-5 record, Penn State Altoona comes into the tournament as the #4 seed. Connor Baker leads the AMCC with 8.80 assists per set, while Jared Kish is third with a .332 hitting percentage. Connor Ebersole's 0.70 blocks per set are good for sixth in the AMCC.
Thiel College comes in with a 9-7 record as the #5 seed. Ricky Castillo leads the Tomcats, and ranks fourth in the AMCC, with 2.45 digs per set, while Brandon Millias ranks fourth with 0.38 service aces per set. Jake Dies ranks fifth in the league with 0.71 blocks per set.
Rounding out the field, with a 7-9 record, is #6 Medaille College. Malachi Jackson ranks second in the conference with 315 total kills and 3.46 kills per set, while Josh Shiflet, Jr.'s 2.67 digs per set also rank second. Kevin Cashdollar ranks third with 7.82 assists per set.
The winner of the AMCC men's volleyball championship tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the national tournament.
Men's Volleyball Tournament Bracket
First Round: Tuesday, April 5 - 7p
#6 Medaille at #3 Hiram
#5 Thiel at #4 PS-Altoona
Semifinals: Friday, April 8
Hosted by #1 Penn State Behrend
6:00p - #1 PS-Behrend vs. #4/5
8:30p - #2 Geneva vs. #3/6
Finals: Saturday, April 9 - 3p
Semifinal winners at #1 Penn State Behrend