TROY, NY – Tapped as the number one seed in the 2013 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III North Men's Volleyball Championship, the Sage Colleges posted a 3-1 win over third-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology in the championship match. Sage's senior Spencer Hilland (Slingerlands, NY/Bethlehem Central) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament after leading Sage to the program's first ECAC Championship after a 30-7 season.
Wentworth finishes the season as the North runner up after a 20-11 campaign. The 20 wins ties a program record for wins in a season, set during the 2011 campaign.
SEMIFINAL MATCH – Wentworth 3, Elmira 0
After Sage had defeated fourth-seeded Daniel Webster, 3-0, in the first semifinal, third-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology posted a 3-0 win over second-seeded Elmira College to advance to the finals.
Pacing the Leopards in the action was junior outside hitter Ross Burdett (Needham, MA/Needham) as he had 11 kills with a .476 attack percentage and a pair of aces to go with his seven digs. Senior setter Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional) added 27 setting assists with a pair of aces and two digs as WIT had a .299 attack percentage and held Elmira to a .105 attack percentage in the contest.
Rookie libero Zach Newhouse (Lancaster, CA/Lancaster) had 13 digs with just one reception error in 18 attempts (.947 reception percentage). Junior middle Brian Mann (East Freetown, MA/Apponequet) added nine kills with three digs and five block assists for the Leopards.
Elmira's freshman outside hitter Mike Ellison (Victor, NY/Victor) had 11 kills with two digs in the contest.
Freshman outside hitter Erik Griffin (Victory, NY/Victor) chipped in with nine kills and six digs. He had just one
Sophomore Tyler Smith (North Syracuse, NY/Pace Bootlegger) and sophomore Rob Shade (West Irondequoit, NY/West Irondequoit) each added seven digs, while junior setter Michael Vellutato (Topanga, CA/Redondo Union) added 21 setting assists with two aces and four digs.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH – The Sage Colleges 3, Wentworth 1
In the finals, Sage jumped out to a 2-0 lead taking set one, 25-15 and set two, 25-21. The Leopards took the third set, 25-19. In the final set, Sage held a 6-0 lead before Wentworth got on the scoreboard.
Hilland led all players with his 15 kills in the finals and chipped in with 11 digs and was a perfect 15-0 on receptions. He added a pair of setting assists and finished the day with 23 kills, a .298 attack percentage, 22 digs and a perfect 28-0 on receptions in eight sets played.
Sophomore outside Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, NY/ Cairo-Durham) and junior outside Dylan Krowicki (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) each added 12 kills for the Gators, while Fishman had a double-double with his 11 digs. He added four aces to elevate his Sage single-season mark to include 96, which also leads NCAA Division III with his 0.83 per set average.
Krowicki added an ace with four digs and caps his junior season with 374 kills with and 262 digs and now has 692 career kills, which is second all-time at Sage. Hilland wraps his Sage career with a school record for most kills (865), most solo blocks (68), and most career points.
Junior middle hitter Connor Thompson (Delmar, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) chipped in with six kills, while adding two solo blocks and nine block assists. On the season, Thompson led the Gators with 116 total blocks and has become the program's all-time block leader with his 255 total blocks and 202 block assists.
Setter Kyle Ray (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads), the team's first four-time letterwinner and a four-time team captain netted 42 setting assists in the finals with five digs. He wraps his career with a number of program high-water marks including 1,304 setting assists in s season, 2,910 career setting assists, 98 career service aces and 397 sets played in 115 career matches played.
The Leopards were led in the finals by junior Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, CT/Shelton) as he had 13 kills with nine digs, an aces and just one reception error in his 20 attempts. Sophomore Sean Donahue (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) added nine kills, three digs and five total blocks. Moriarty added 34 setting assists with four digs as the Leopards were held to a .065 attack percentage in the finals.
For Sage, the 2013 ECAC Tournament is the first for the team, which is just four years young and the first for interim head coach Sandy Augstein-Collins.
(Recap Courtesy of The Sage Colleges Sports Information)