No. 1 ranked Springfield College is one of eight teams seeking the first ever NCAA sanctioned Division III men's volleyball national championship..
SPRINGFIELD – The first ever NCAA Division III men’s volleyball national championship opens Friday at Blake Arena at Springfield College with the host and top-ranked Pride (30-5) taking on No. 13 Baruch (23-15) at 12:30 p.m. in quarterfinal play.
Eight teams will compete for the title. Fourteenth nationally-ranked Kean University (25-10) faces Hunter (25-8) Friday at 2:30 p.m.; No. 3 University of California-Santa Cruz (16-6) meets No. 10 Rivier (25-8) at 5:30 p.m.; and No. 3 Carthage (27-5) plays No. 5 Nazareth (27-8) at 7:30 in the other quarterfinals.
The semifinals are Saturday at 4 and 6 p.m. with the championship match Sunday at 4 p.m.
Men’s volleyball has grown so popular in recent years that the number of Division III sponsoring institutions has passed the 50-member mark, the minimum number to hold an NCAA sanctioned national championship. There are now 61 Division III teams, many of which play in conferences - although Springfield is independent. Previously, teams participated in the Molten Division III Men’s National Championship, which began in 1997, but was not NCAA sanctioned.
The Pride enters the tournament with an 18-match winning streak, and is 7-0 against teams in the field. SC defeated New York City-based Baruch twice this season, 3-2 and 3-0. Baruch qualified for the final eight by besting Elms College 3-0 in a play-in match.
“They’re very offensive, and good in the middle,” Springfield College coach Charlie Sullivan said.
Nazareth was the pre-season favorite after winning the Molten title last year. Springfield also topped Nazareth twice this season, 3-1, 3-0. The Pride also registered 3-0 sweeps over Hunter and Kean, and outpointed Santa Cruz 3-1.
Springfield has not been a one or two star team this season with five of its most offensive weapons registering at least 172 kills. Mike Pelletier leads the way with 244 kills followed by Angel Perez (226), Jimmy O’Leary (204), Alstair Matthews (195), and Greg Falcone (172).
“We’ve had a little more diversity this year, we spread the ball around, it’s a good group of guys,” Sullivan said.
he Pride added another big man for this season. Senior basketball standout Ryan Coburn, who set an SC record with 286 career blocks, joined the volleyball squad after the basketball season ended.
Springfield has not lost a match since Feb. 1, 3-0 at Juniata, and went 15-0 at home. Add the 17-0 record of the Springfield women’s volleyball team in the fall, and SC has taken the last 32 matches at Blake Arena.
The Pride holds the best hitting percentage in the nation (.374). Carthage is second at .324.
Sullivan said he predicts that men’s volleyball in Division III will continue to grow, noting that it hasn’t at the Division I level. He points to the ability for a Division III school to hire a coach to handle both the women’s and men’s teams makes it more financially feasible.
All session passes for the tournament are $15 for adults, and $10 for students and seniors. Single match tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for students and seniors.