Men's Volleyball Makes History with 3-1 Win in NCAA First Round

Hoboken, NJ| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's volleyball team made history on Friday evening defeating Southern Virginia University 3-1 and claiming the program's first-ever NCAA Div. III Tournament.

The Golden Eagles win their 14th straight match to improve 26-3 and advance to the second round as the Knights wrap up their season at 19-5.

The Golden Eagles trailed early falling behind 7-1 in the opening set and never gaining momentum as the Knights cruised to a 25-16 win backed by a .591 team hitting percentage.

St. Joseph's bounced back in set two reaching the 20-point mark first, 20-15, and ultimately bringing the match back to even with a 25-19 win. Set three saw the Golden Eagles leading 19-11, but the Knights chipped away getting to within one, 24-23, but an SVU service error clinched the 25-23 win in favor of SJC.

Both sides traded points to begin the fourth frame, but four unanswered points in favor of St. Joseph's created some distance at 16-11. Southern Virginia responded with a 4-0 run of their own, 16-15, but the Golden Eagles held on to capture the 25-21 win. 

Leading the Golden Eagles with 15 kills was graduate student Mark Jensen. Sophomore Mark Williams finished in double figures with 11 kills while adding six digs and four blocks. Graduate student Paul Curaro pitched in with seven kills and a match-best 12 digs and four service aces.

Middles Quinn Foglia and Matt Dolan combined for nine blocks while finishing with four and five kills, respectively.

Sophomore setter Clint Johnson dished 36 assists and recorded eight digs, three kills, and three blocks.

SVU was led by a 15-point performance from Nahuel Recabarren who also collected a team-best nine digs. Paul Candland added 11 kills with setter Kaipo Tagaloa tossing 44 assists.

The Golden Eagles advance to face the winner of Stevens Tech and Endicott on Saturday, April 16 at 6:00 pm.