With last weekend's first round match completed two Continental Volleyball Conference teams, Juniata College and UC Santa Cruz, are ready to focus on this weekend's NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball National Championship Tournament.
The last time both teams were in action was back on April 6th when Juniata swept UC Santa Cruz in the CVC Tournament Championship match. Now both teams will be looking to continue their season's quest for a National Championship. The two squads could meet again, in the semifinals this weekend, if they each win their quarterfinals match.
Juniata's quarterfinals match pits the Eagles against Rivier College. Juniata, ranked #8 in the AVCA national poll, is making their program's first ever trip to the NCAA National Tournament. The Eagles are 22-12 on the season and have won six of their last seven matches. The youthful Eagles, with no seniors on the roster, are led by freshman setter and CVC Tournament VCP Matt Elias. Elias took over setting duties mid-way through the season and led his team to a 5-1 conference record and their run in the CVC Tournament. Elias has the benefit of setting a powerful quartet of hitters in Joe Bortack, Paul Kuhn and Ross Madden, all named to the CVC All-East Division team; as well as Alex McColgin who led the Eagles in kills this season.
Their opponent, #15 Rivier, are 26-11 on the season and earned a spot into the National Tournament by capturing the Great Northeast Atlantic Conference Tournament title. The Raiders are currently on a 10 match winning streak and is making their second consecutive appearance at the NCAA National Tournament. Chris Markuson leads the Raiders in kills with 373 while Aaron Almario is a two time All-American.
UC Santa Cruz quarterfinals opponent will be Nazareth College. UC Santa Cruz has won 11 of their last 13 matches and are making their second trip to the National Tournament. The Banana Slugs, ranked #3 in the latest AVCA poll, bring a strong defensive style to the game as the are 4th in the nation in digs per set. They average 12.45 kills per set, good for 8th in the nation, and are led by the trio of Jorges Reyes, Braden Torado and Salvatore La Cavera who all rank in the top 50 nationally in hitting percentage. In addition La Cavera is 7th in the nation in kills per set at 3.83 per set.
Nazareth, ranked #2, are 34-1 on the season with their only loss coming to New Paltz back on March 30th. Nazareth secured a berth into the National Tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Stevens to win the United Volleyball Conference Tournament for the third straight season. The Golden Flyers are making their second straight apperance in the NCAA National Tournament. Nazareth ranks in the top 10 nationally in several statistical categories including Kills per set (1st), Hitting Percentage (2nd), Assists per set (1st) and Aces per set (7th). They are led by four AVCA All-Americans in Robert Kraft, EJ Wells-Spicer, Luke Lawatsch and Tim Zyburt.
Other quarterfinals matches pit nationally ranked #1 Springfield against #14 Kean University and #7 Baruch College against #6 Stevens Tech. This year's National Tournament is held on the campus of Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y. All quarterfinals matches will be played on April 26th with the semifinals on Saturday, April 27th and the Championship match on Sunday, April 28th. You can follow all the matches live HERE