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NECVA: #7 Bearcats to Battle #3 Nazareth in Sunday's Final, Clinch Final Four Berth
2011 NECVA POSTSEASON CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
HOSTED BY STEVENS (HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY)
FRIDAY, APRIL 1 (Round of 16)
#1 Nazareth (26-3) def. #16 Lasell (22-15), 3-1
(25-23, 23-25, 25-14, 25-15)
#2 Rivier (32-8) def. #15 Bard (20-12), 3-0
(25-22, 25-21, 25-21)
#3 Baruch (32-13) def. #14 Ramapo (17-12), 3-0
(25-22, 25-21, 25-21) BOX SCORE
#4 Philadelphia Biblical (22-10) def. #13 Newbury
(23-13), 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-22)
#5 MIT (29-6) def. #12 Stevenson (24-7), 3-0
(25-18, 25-18, 25-19)
#6 Emmanuel (27-8) def. #11 Endicott (22-13), 3-1
(25-15, 21-25, 25-16, 25-22)
#7 Medaille (22-5) def. #10 Vassar (17-12), 3-2
(25-14, 11-25, 24-26, 25-17, 14-16)
#8 Stevens (17-11) def. # 9 New Paltz (20-13),
3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-17)
SATURDAY, APRIL 2
QUARTERFINALS
11:00 am
G1: #1 Nazareth def. #8 Stevens, 3-0 ((25-23,
25-23, 25-19)
G2: #2 Rivier def. #7 Medaille, 3-2 (25-17,
21-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-7)
1:00 pm
G3: #3 Baruch def. #6 Emmanuel, 3-1 (25-16,
28-30, 25-19, 25-22) BOX SCORE
G4: #4 Philadelphia Biblical def. #5 MIT, 3-2
(17-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-17, 15-6)
SEMIFINALS
4:00 pm
#1 Nazareth def. #4 Philadelphia Biblical, 3-2
(25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 17-25, 15-9)
#3 Baruch def. #2 Rivier, 3-2 (25-21, 25-22,
21-25, 23-25, 15-12) BOX SCORE
SUNDAY, APRIL 3
FINAL
1:00 pm
#1 Nazareth v #3 Baruch, 1:00 pm (LIVE STATS & FREE VIDEO, CLICK HERE)
LATEST AVCA DIVISION III
RANKINGS
The #7-ranked men’s volleyball team defeated #14-ranked
Emmanuel College (3-2) and #9-ranked Rivier College (3-2) on
Saturday to advance to their first-ever appearance in the
championship match of the North East Collegiate Volleyball
Association (NECVA) Postseason Tournament.
The Bearcats (34-13) on Sunday, April 3, at 1:00 pm, will battle
#3-ranked Nazareth College (26-3) in the championship match to be
hosted by the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New
Jersey.
In addition, for the first time in Baruch College athletic
history, a varsity team has reached the prestigious Final Four of a
Division III tournament. Since Baruch’s opponent (Nazareth)
on Sunday has already automatically qualified for the “Molten Final Four” as host, the Bearcats earn
NECVA’s berth into the final round of Division III
men’s volleyball scheduled for April 15-16 in Rochester, New
York on the campus of Nazareth College.
Baruch and Nazareth on Sunday will not only play for the
championship of NECVA, but also likely for a higher seed in the
“Molten Final Four” pairings that will be announced on
April 11.
Sunday’s final will be the last for NECVA, since the NCAA
will officially begin hosting a Division III Championship
Men’s Volleyball Tournament starting with the 2012
season.
The Bearcats began the day on Saturday by defeating #14 Emmanuel
College in four sets in the quarterfinal round. They won the first
set, 25-16, but suffered a loss in the second set with a 30-28
score. They bounced back and won the next two sets with scores of
25-19, 25-22 to advance to the semifinal against Rivier
College.
Against Emmanuel, Pablo
Oliveira led the Bearcats with 21 kills (.361), while
Eryk
Kowalski notched 15 kills (.321). Jesus
Echevarria dished out 49 assists and collected a
team-high seven digs on the defensive end.
For the second time in three years, Baruch defeated #9 Rivier to
eliminate them from the NECVA Championship Tournament. The Bearcats
started strong and won the first two sets with scores of 25-21,
25-22, but Rivier rallied to win the next two sets with scores of
25-21, 25-23.
That set up an exciting fifth-set tie breaker in a semifinal match
that was loud with fan support in the stands and extremely tense on
the court.
Rivier actually took a 6-5 lead in the fifth set, but the Bearcats
never lost their composure and recorded a 15-12 victory to advance
to the championship match with a five-set victory.
Upon winning, the team and coaches ran upstairs to watch the
finish of the Nazareth v Philadelphia Biblical match, and as soon
as Nazareth won in five sets, the team erupted in jubilation with
confirmation that they were going to be playing in the
“Molten Final Four” in two weeks.
