After three years as a four-team tournament, the Continental Volleyball Conference Tournament has returned to a six-team format with the regular season divisional champions, Kean University and Marymount University, earning first-round byes. This year's tournament field includes Eastern Mennonite University, Juniata College, Kean University, Marymount University, Ramapo College, and Rutgers University-Newark.
Tournament Information
Kean secured the top overall seed in the tournament by winning the CVC regular season championship and will host the semifinals and championship match next weekend on April 13 and 14. First-round matches will be played on Tuesday, April 10 at the higher seeded team's home court. The tournament begins when Rutgers-Newark hosts Ramapo and Juniata hosts Eastern Mennonite. Semifinal matches are set for Friday, April 13 with the first match of the night starting at 6 p.m. when Kean hosts the winner of the Juniata and Eastern Mennonite match. The second match on Friday will be Marymount facing the winner of Rutgers-Newark and Ramapo match, with a start time of 8:30 p.m.
Ticket prices for semifinals and the championship match are: $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students with ID, and Free for children under 12 years of age.
All matches will be available on live video. See tournament schedule page for more information HERE
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Overall Record: 20-12 |
Eastern Mennonite University 'ROYALS' Eastern Mennonite will be making their second consecutive appearance in the CVC Tournament. The Royals appeared received votes in the AVCA national poll for the majority of the season and had a season-long seven-match win streak in early March. They are hitting .219 as a team and average 11.5 kills per set. The Royals rank at the top of the conference defensively after leading all teams with 10.41 digs and 2.19 blocks per set. A balanced attack that features three players averaging over 2 kills per set is led by senior outside hitter William Ragland. Ragland totaled 350 kills this season and led the team with digs (238) while also ranking third in blocks (62). Middle Hitter Dan Lutz hit .359 this season while averaging 2.24 kills per set and teamed up with R.J. Ocampo to give the Royals the top two blockers in the league. Christian Taylor led the conference with 1113 assists while Micah Buller recorded 314 digs. |
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Overall Record: 19-12 |
Juniata College 'EAGLES' The Eagles come into the tournament on a roll, having won their last seven matches. The defending CVC Tournament Champions, the Eagles are hitting .241 this season and average 12.08 kills per set; both 4th best in the league. They were also 2nd in blocks with 243 this season. Quinn Peterson topped the 400 kill mark for the second straight year, putting down 431 kills this season while hitting .246 and adding 30 service aces. The duo of Joe Fick and Matt Vasinko give the Eagles good secondary options in the attack. Mahlon Bender (84) and David Hibner (98) provide coverage at the net. Sophomore Matt Schaeffer runs the offense, totaling 858 assists this season while Chris Heron leads the team with 261 digs. |
Overall Record: 31-2CVC Record: 12-1 Coach: Charlie Ginex |
Kean University 'COUGARS' Kean, in their first year with the conference, hit the court running as they captured the CVC regular season championship with a 12-1 record. They come into the tournament on an impressive 25 match win streak, including 12 straight wins in conference play which ties a conference record. The Cougars are hitting a conference-best .307 as a team and average 12.40 kills per set. They also led the league in aces with 254 and were 3rd in blocks. One of the more balanced attacks in the league, the Cougars have six players with 100 or more kills this season. Steven Zarzycki led the way with 231 kills. The Cougars are dangerous in the middle with a trio of middle blockers in Jared Werner, Shayron Taylor, and Jay Bynum, that can not only guard the net but put a ball down during the attack; with all three players hitting above .449 this season. Ian Capp averages 8.76 assists this season as the team's setter and led the league with 69 aces. He also ranked second on the team in digs (161) just behind team leader Nick Breslin (162). |
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Overall Record: 21-6 |
Marymount University 'SAINTS' Marymount made a late push for their second straight CVC regular season title but came up just short, finishing with an 11-2 conference record despite ending the regular season with six consecutive wins. The Saints led the conference at 13.24 kills per set while hitting .286 as a team. A power duo of TJ Wiechecki, the defending CVC Player of the Year, and Sam Safley are at the front of the Saints attack. Wiechecki, a senior, is the conference's all-time leader in kills and averaged 4.03 per set this season while adding 125 digs and 39 blocks. Safley, a sophomore, totaled 303 kills while hitting .266 this season. Setter Erich Bratke averages a conference-best 10.93 assists per set and has other options outside of the previously mentioned duo, including Eric Wiles (209 kills) and Remington Shahan (135 kills). Connor Choate led the team with 199 digs, averaging 2.40 per set. |
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Overall Record: 8-20 |
Ramapo College 'ROADRUNNERS' CVC newcomer Ramapo claimed a spot in the tournament by finishing in third place in the East Division. The Roadrunners dropped their final three matches of the regular season but knocked off their first-round opponent in the tournament 3-2 in their final conference match of the year back on April 3. Ramapo is hitting .188 as a team and average 10.13 kills per set while finishing with 116 aces. Garrett Fitzsimmons (231 kills) and Eric Van Thuyne (220 kills) lead the attack while Brenden Russell is hitting a team-best .317 this season. Sophomore Lucas Inglis leads the team at 8.57 assists per set while Van Thuyne led the team with 34 aces. The Roadrunners have a team mindset defensively, with four players totaling over 99 digs this season, led by Fitzsimmmons' 137. |
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Overall Record: 18-8 |
Rutgers University-Newark 'SCARLET RAIDERS' The Scarlet Raiders are back in the CVC Tournament after missing out last season. Rutgers-Newark stopped a late skid in the season by defeating #11 ranked NYU in their regular-season finale. They are hitting .246 as a team and average 11.68 kills per set. Senior right-side hitter Corey Pieper stars for the Scarlet Raiders, after leading the team in kills (305) and aces (26) and ranking 2nd in both digs (151) and blocks (42). Ricky Crumlish and Justin Sandy are dangerous as well with both averaging more than two kills per set. Junior Arnan Romua and freshman Travis Emenaker have both seen time at setter for the Scarlet Raiders this season and combined for over 850 assists. Libero Jake Connors totaled 241 digs this season while Dom Gutowski led the team with 57 total blocks. |
