Playing in its third consecutive Continental Volleyball Conference Championship match, the seventh-ranked Stevenson men's volleyball team posted a 25-23, 25-21, 25-21 sweep over fifth-ranked Rutgers-Newark to claim the CVC Championship Saturday afternoon at Owings Mills Gymnasium.
The Mustangs (25-7) earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship, becoming the 10th Stevenson program to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Stevenson also remains unbeaten at home, improving to 10-0 with eight straight set wins.
Seniors Kyle Pottiger and Patrick Schuyler as well as junior Nate Ellis were all named to the All-Tournament Team while senior Rob Wingert was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Meanwhile, Rutgers-Newark (24-3) fell for just the third time this season and the second sweep by Stevenson. Kevin McCandless and Jack Fredricks were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The two teams traded points early on with the Scarlet Raiders maintaining at least a one point lead before Stevenson knotted the set for the fourth time at 12-12. But the Scarlet Raiders won four straight points to force a timeout by the Mustangs.
After facing its largest deficit at six, the hosts got back within three but a service error halted the momentum as Rutgers-Newark extended its lead back to five.
Trailing 23-19, the Mustangs won three consecutive points to get within one and force a timeout by the Scarlet Raiders. Stevenson took the lead with a service ace by freshman Jason Gardner before finishing the comeback with a block assist by Pottieger and Schuyler.
During the run, Schuyler recorded two kills while Rutgers-Newark totaled three attack errors, including on three of the final four points of the set. Schuyler had five kills in the opening set on five swings.
The Mustangs trailed 5-4 early in the second set but that was the last time as the hosts maintained a three-point led for most of the set. A 3-1 run by the Scarlet Raiders got Rutgers-Newark within one at 17-16, before the visitors knotted the game at 19-19.
Tied at 20-20, Stevenson won five of the final six points, including two kills by Gardner and two service aces by Shorts. Schuyler also put down his 10th kill of the match during the set-ending run.
The final set was close from start to finish as neither team led by more than two points until the Mustangs won the final three points to claim the program's first-ever conference championship.
Schuyler finished with a match-high 15 kills while adding three digs and two service aces while freshman Landon Shorts totaled 10 kills, seven digs, three service aces and a block assist.
Meanwhile, freshman Jason Gardner recorded nine kills while the duo of Pottieger and Ellis each totaled seven kills. Pottieger also added six block assists. Wingert, the MVP, finished with 44 assists, three digs and three block assists.
The selection show for the 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship will be Monday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m. Fans can watch live on NCAA.com.
STORY COURTESY OF STEVENSON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE