ORANGEBURG, N.Y. – Top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas and third-seeded Dominican advanced to the final of the ECC Men's Volleyball Championship after the Spartans topped fourth-seeded American International, 3-1 (29-31, 25-18, 28-26, 30-28), and the Chargers dominated second-seeded Roberts Wesleyan, 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-17) on Saturday afternoon. St. Thomas Aquinas and Dominican will compete for the inaugural ECC men's volleyball trophy on Sunday, with first serve set for 1:00 p.m. in Dominican's Hennessy Center.
(1) St. Thomas Aquinas 3, (4) American International 1
Box Score
The St. Thomas Aquinas College men's volleyball team advanced to its first-ever ECC title match with a 3-1 victory over American International College in the semifinal round of the conference tournament, held at the Hennessy Center on the campus of Dominican University.
As a team, STAC recorded 62 kills compared to American International's 56. The Spartans also had a 15 blocks and 59 assists, while the Yellow Jackets tallied 7 blocks and 52 assists. St. Thomas Aquinas outhit Roberts Wesleyan by a .279 to .194 margin for the match.
ECC Player of the Year Kyran Versteegen paced the Spartans offense with a match-high 24 kills on Saturday. He also registered six digs, a solo block and three block assists. ECC Setter of the Year Joaquin La Jara tallied 53 serve assists (13.25 assists/set). La Jara also accumulated one kill, two digs and four block assists for the maroon and gold. Gabriel Vieira recorded 16 kills, along with ten digs and seven block assists. Andre Cippiciani tallied 13 kills, seven digs and a block assist on the day. David Weiss picked up five kills, two digs and six block assists in the semifinal contest. James Feuchtgruber accumulated three kills, one service ace, four digs and seven block assists.
Recap courtesy of St. Thomas Aquinas College Sports Information
(3) Dominican 3, (2) Roberts Wesleyan 0
Box Score
The Dominican University New York men's volleyball team earned a spot in the ECC Finals with a 3-0 triumph over the #2 seeded Roberts Wesleyan University in the semifinal round this afternoon.
The #3 seeded Chargers jumped out to a 1-0 match lead with a 25-11 victory in the opening set. Tied at 15-15 in the second set, the Chargers pulled away after scoring six of the next seven points. DU kept the lead and extended to a 2-0 advantage after a 25-20 victory in the second set. The Chargers finished off the 3-0 sweep after using a 14-7 run on their way to a 25-17 victory in the third set.
ECC Rookie of the Year Phinehas Wiley finished with eight kills, eight points, and four digs. Ayden Shaw scored 9.5 points on six kills and five block assists. Gavin Tate added a team-high six block assists and also added one solo block. Tate recorded five kills and finished with 12.5 points scored. Setter Luke Koster recorded a team-high 21 assists and also added three service aces and two kills. Tyler Roukey recorded a team-high eight digs while Jacob Davidson finished with seven digs.
Recap courtesy of Dominican University New York Sports Information