LATROBE, Pa. (April 10) – For the first time in program history, the Saint Vincent College men's volleyball team is preparing for the postseason.
 
The Bearcats, under second-year head coach Kate McCauley, will open up the 2023 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference playoffs on Tuesday, playing host to Hilbert College at 7 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.
 
Saint Vincent closed the regular season with a 10-9 overall record and 8-5 mark in conference play, earning the No. 2 seed in the AMCC's South Division. Both the 10 overall wins and eight conference victories are program records, eclipsing last season's total of six and four, respectively.
 
Hilbert enters the playoffs with a 9-15 overall record and 6-7 AMCC mark, holding the No. 3 seed in the North Division.
 
The two teams previously met on Feb. 11 in Latrobe, with Saint Vincent pulling out a 3-1 victory (25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20). The Bearcats turned in an impressive team effort in the win, their fourth straight over Hilbert.
 
Three players reached double digits in kills, with Zebadiah Wyant and Matthew Minkin each putting down 17 kills and Shawn McSwiggen 14. Defensively, Matthew Klasnic (20), Zebadiah Wyant (17), Zach Wyant (12) and Minkin (11) each reached double figures in digs, while Zach Wyant recorded four blocks and a team-record 44 kills.
 
As demonstrated in the Hilbert victory, the Bearcats' success this season has been a true team effort.
 
Minkin has been one of the top players in the AMCC this season. Averaging a conference-best 4.1 points per set, as the senior outside hitter leads the league in kills per set (3.77), and ranks sixth in hitting percentage (.255).  Minkin has put down 10 or more kills in 18 of SVC's 20 matches this season, while recording 15 kill-dig double-doubles.
 
The veteran Minkin has been complemented this season by a trio of rookies on offense. Freshman Shawn McSwiggen averages 2.89 kills per set, tallying 10 or more kills in 10 different matches, while he has been one of the top servers in the conference. McSwiggen has totaled 44 service aces to rank second in the league, posting two or more aces in 14 different matches, including a 5-ace effort in SVC's win over Wells on March 25 and three matches with four aces.
 
Freshman Zebadiah Wyant, who has recovered from an injury that cost him the final four matches of the regular season, averaged 3.10 kills, while freshman Chrystiaan Sexton (0.93 kills/set), junior Zachary Mumpower (0.86 kills/set) and junior Michael Pollack (0.53 kills/set) have also been valuable contributors on offense.
 
Freshman Zach Wyant has quarterbacked the Bearcat offense for the duration of the season, putting together the finest season for a setter in program history. The rookie closed the regular season as the AMCC leader in assists with an average of 8.87 per set. He has dished out at least 30 helpers in nine different matches, while topping 40 three times, highlighted by a program-record 49 in a 4-set win at Hiram on Feb. 14.
 
Klasnic has led SVC's defensive efforts, ranking second in the league with an average of 2.89 digs per set, including a mark of 3.26 digs per set against conference foes. He has recorded 10 or more digs in nine different matches, with a pair of 20-dig performances, including a 26-dig effort at Penn St.-Altoona (March 15). His 182 digs on the season are a program record.
 
Along with his offensive prowess, Minkin has had a stellar season on defense, as his 2.51 digs per set rank fifth in the conference. He has recorded at least 10 digs in 13 different matches, with two 15-kill efforts (March 25 vs. Wells; Feb. 25 at Medaille).
 
Zach Wyant has also eclipsed the 100-dig mark this season, totaling 132 for an average of 2.13 per set, while senior Josh Canty has averaged 1.67, Zebadiah Wyant 1.56 and McSwiggen 1.16.
 
Mumpower has been a force at the net, leading SVC with 42 total blocks for an average of 0.66 per set, highlighted by a program-record 10-block performance in the Bearcats' win over Medaille. Zach Wyant has recorded at least one block in 17 different matches, while McSwiggen enters the playoffs with 21 total blocks and Minkin 17.
 
Hilbert is also making its first AMCC postseason appearance, and are in the midst of a major turnaround after going a combined 2-21 in conference play over the previous two seasons. The Hawks, under third-year head coach Calvin Crosby, posted a 6-7 mark this season against AMCC foes, picking up conference wins over Wells (twice), Medaille, Mount Aloysius, Penn St.-Altoona and Hiram.
 
Sophomore Brad Converse, who recorded a 15-kill, 12-dig double-double in the Hawks' first matchup against the Bearcats, is Hilbert's big gun on offense, averaging 2.69 kills with a .198 hitting percentage.
 
Defensively, sophomore Alex Overhoff averages a team-best 2.19 digs per set and Converse 2.12, while four Hilbert players have totaled more than 20 blocks, including junior Dylan Suter (32), Converse (28), sophomore Nick Diello (24) and freshman Chris Laboy (23).
 
The winner of Tuesday's SVC/Hilbert matchup will advance to the AMCC's Final Four, which will be hosted on Friday and Saturday by Penn St.-Behrend, the No. 1 seed out of the AMCC North. Tuesday night's victor will take on host Behrend, while the winner of the other quarterfinal match between Hiram and Thiel, will face Geneva, the top seed out of the South.