March 12, 2024
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18 matches on the schedule tonight. Let’s dive in…
The highly anticipated CUNYAC matchup between Baruch and Hunter did not disappoint tonight with an exciting 5 set match that went right down to the wire. Lexington stayed Blue as the Bearcats slipped past the Hawks with a 15-10 fifth set victory. Baruch’s fiery outside hitter Jack Centeno slapped 19 kills to lead all attackers. Both teams were going all out which resulted in sizeable error rates. Hunter had 19 service errors and 22 attack errors while Baruch had 14 service errors and 26 attack errors. Peter Gavroff and Haoxin Hu each added 9 kills for the Hawks and Ryan Oommen posted 41 assists. Baruch is now in the driver seat to win the conference with a 6-0 record and a win against the Hawks that are now 5-1.
Another great match to watch tonight was the Benedictine reverse sweep of Dominican. Brayden Rice was outstanding in the resurgence of the Eagles after dropping the first two sets. It was a perfect time for the sophomore to break out this season as he posted a career best in kills with 17 and points with 17.5. Benedictine had gotten off to rocky start this season, lost 5 in a row, but now has a 7-game win streak and pulled off their first victory on Dominican home soil in program history. Benedictine is now 6-0 in conference play. Chase Olsen had 12 kills and Cooper Armstrong added 9.
MSOE got 34 assists from Parker Rings who steered the attack away from Concordia Wisconsin’s leading blocker Lucas Beres and pulled off a straight set win for the Raiders. Callen Harris jammed 11 kills and Seth Thomas added 10 while Carter Shavitz contributed 9 kills on the attack. A 47-dig performance by the Raiders made a huge difference in the win. Spencer Herman slammed 13 kills for the Falcons.
Arcadia was without Andrew Ahn for the third straight match but prevailed in a 5-set match with Wilkes. The fifth set was won 15-12. Danny Gonzalez led the way on the attack with 17 kills and Cameron Birch added 15. Riley Kodidek had 50 assists as well as 10 digs. Wilkes dropped only their 5th loss of the year versus 13 wins while Arcadia improved to 13-7. Arcadia has a huge match on Friday as they play in conference against Stevens.
In another 5-set match tonight, Elizabethtown edged Eastern powered by matching 18 kill performances by Logan Smith and Alex Finch. Nate Seeger had 53 assists for the Eagles. E-town is now 11-6.
Kyle Martini had a big night for the Hiram Terriers pounding 15 kills, lifting 11 digs, and pushing back 3 blocks in a 4-set win over Wittenberg. Matt Albano had 34 assists and 4 aces in the win. Michael Yurk had 12 kills for Wittenberg.
St. Elizabeth outlasted Bryn Athyn in 4 sets despite losing the overall points scored on the night 94-91. Sophomore Kyzier Kelly doubled his previous career high output and had 12 kills to lead the Eagles. Diego Rondon had 23 assists and Eddy Pena added 7 kills and 11 digs for the winners. St. E’s now has two wins in a row for the second time this season.
Lancaster Bible rolled over Valley Forge tonight led by a strong performance by Kevin Bryant. Bryant parked 13 kills on 15 swings with no attack errors, hitting .867 for the night. Nicholas Marion had 8 digs and 6 kills while Christian Herr had 22 assists and 5 digs for the Chargers.
Accolades
Spencer Herman of Concordia Wisconsin broke the NACC career record for kills at 1,050 with a nice job in a Falcon loss.
Lucas Beres of Concordia Wisconsin broke two Falcon records tonight. He now has 195 career assist blocks and 228 career total blocks moving past former record holder Blake Schwandt.
Andy Ellingham also broke the record held by Schwandt for solo blocks with 34. A great night for these Falcons. A bad night for Schwandt losing three school records in one night.
Augustana has a big week ahead as they put their 15-2 record on the line against Loras, Carthage, and North Central. Could the CCIW be the strongest conference in the Nation? Let the debate begin.
Player of the Night
Baruch Outside Jack Centeno is tonight’s Player of the Night. Jack is having another outstanding season and the way he stepped up tonight in the Bearcats big conference matchup with Hunter earns him the title.
Wednesday Feature Matchups
Marymount at Randolph Macon
Nazareth at Elmira
NJCU visits St. Joe’s Long Island
Augustana at Loras
Thursday Feature Matchups
Aurora at Benedictine
Friday Feature Matchups
St. Joe’s LI at SUNY New Paltz
Stevens at Arcadia
Nazareth at St. John Fisher
Saturday Feature Matchups
Tri-Match: Eastern Mennonite, Hobart & Juniata
Carthage at Augustana
NYU at MIT
Sunday Feature Matchups
NYU at Wentworth