D’Youville Wins ECAC Championship, Hawks Fall to Newbury

NEW PALTZ, NY — This afternoon at the SUNY New Paltz Athletic and Wellness Center, D’Youville College defeated Newbury College 3-0 (30-20, 30-18, 30-25) in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Men’s Volleyball North: Division III Championship. SUNY New Paltz hosted and served as the number one seed for the event, but fell in the opening round to Newbury College 3-1 (30-28, 27-30, 21-30, 19-30). D’Youville College defeated Johnson and Wales University 3-0 (30-22, 30-26, 30-28) in their opening round match to advance to the championship.

SUNY New Paltz (22-12) and Newbury College (20-11) battled in the first and closest match of the afternoon. The Hawks opened game one with a 30-28 victory, after rallying from a late two-point deficit, 25-23. The Nighthawks evened the match at a game apiece with a 30-27 win in game two. Newbury College would take the final two games 30-21 and 30-19 to advance to the championship match.

Junior middle hitter Ken McNeeley (Forest Hill, MD) led all players with 16 kills and 11 blocks for Newbury College. Sophomore outside hitter Jay Neveu (Riverside, RI) and sophomore outside hitter Erik Kostanski (Hampden, MA) joined McNeeley in double-digit kills, recording 12 and ten, respectively. Sophomore setter Matthew Hartmann (Feeding Hills, MA) recorded a double-double with 44 assists and 12 digs. Freshman libero Nicholas Horrocks (New Bedford, MA) led the Nighthawks defensively with 21 digs. Three Hawks finished the match in double-digit kills. Middle blockers, junior Josh Spiro (Island park, NY) and senior Greg Jackson (Central Square, NY) totaled 15 kills each, Spiro added eight digs and four blocks, defensively. Junior outside hitter Jeff Lee (Clifton Park, NY) and freshman setter Matt Weingarten (East Moriches, NY) both contributed a double-double for SUNY New Paltz. Lee totaled 13 kills and ten digs, as Weingarten provided 54 assists and 12 digs. Sophomore libero Pedro Medina (Brentwood, NY) collected a career-high in digs with 28.

The second opening round match of the afternoon featured D’Youville College (21-8) and Johnson and Wales University (19-9). D’Youville College sized control from the opening serve and defeated the Wildcats 3-0. The Spartans took game one 30-22 and game two 30-26, before Johnson and Wales decided to slow the pace after grabbing a 19-17 lead in game three. D’Youville College, however, quickly regained the edge 25-24, before continuing on to the 30-28 victory.

Senior outside hitter Michael Rozek (West Seneca, NY) totaled 19 kills to lead all players. Junior middle blocker Clinton Gilliland (Butler, PA) joined him in double-digits with ten kills. Sophomore setter John Kofmehl (Pittsburgh, PA) provided 48 assists offensively, as junior outside hitter John Colosi (Grand Island, NY) totaled ten digs on defense. Freshman right side Benjamin Davies (Worcester, MA) led the Wildcats with 14 kills. Sophomore libero Albert Trevino (San Antonio, TX) tallied 39 assists, while freshmen outside hitters Hapaki Kaululaau (Laie, Hawaii) and James Scott (Fairfield, CT) totaled 11 and 13 digs, respectively.

D’Youville College (22-8) and Newbury College (20-12) squared off in the ECAC Men’s Volleyball North: Division III Championship Match. D’Youville College defeated Newbury with little trouble to earn the 3-0 victory. The Spartans topped the Nighthawks 30-20 in game one, before taking the final two games 30-18 and 30-25.

Rozek recorded a match-high 20 kills and took home Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament. Kofmehl totaled 43 assists for the Spartans, as Colosi and junior libero Chris Flierl (Cheektowaga, NY) collected nine digs apiece. Neveu and McNeeley led the Nighthawks with eight kills each. Hartmann fueled the offense with 22 assists and Horrocks tallied 12 digs defensively for Newbury College.