CUNYAC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL (for complete tournament coverage)
The #13 Baruch College Bearcats stormed back after dropping the first two sets to win the 2012 CUNY Athletic Conference / Con Edison Men's Volleyball Championship, defeating their host, the #11 Hunter College Hawks, riding a 20-match win streak, 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-10. The win at the Sportsplex in Manhattan, earns the Bearcats the first-ever berth to the inaugural NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship beginning next Saturday with one match, followed the following weekend with the quarterfinals.
Championship Match: #2 Baruch 3, #1 Hunter 2 ( 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-10) • Boxscore
"We let Hunter beat us in the first two sets," said Baruch head coach Allison Stack following her fourth consecutive CUNYAC title. "I said going into the third set, let's play to our potential and see what happens. Once we did that, we turned around in the third set and after that, we felt very confident. We've had a lot of ups and downs this season, but this is the night that matters, and it feels great to take it home a fourth time."
In game one, with the score tied 2-2, the Hawks went on a 6-1 run via two kills by senior Christopher Newcomb, prompting an early timeout by Baruch Head Coach Allison Stack at 8-3. But the Bearcats responded, forcing five consecutive attack errors by the Hawks, sandwiched around a pair of kills by Jack McKee. Baruch kept the streak going and extended their lead to 13-9 with two kills by Nick Smith in the run. Senior OH Eric Barty settled his team down again and with two kills and two errors by McKee, Hunter scored four straight to tie the game again at 13-13.
The game was neck and neck the rest of the way, with no more than two points separating the rivals. Leading 24-23, Newcomb's seventh kill of the set proved to be the most important, and the Hawks took game one, 25-23. Hunter setter Stanley Martinez had nine assists and libero Eric Lodde had six digs in the frame.
Game two continued where the first set left off with both teams countering immediately, as neither team forged more than a two point lead. But with a 17-17 tie, a pair of kills by Barty from Martinez put the Hawks closer to the finish line with a 21-17 lead. Hunter would go on to win game two 25-22, with seven more kills by Newcomb and 13 assists by Martinez. Barty, a four-year player for the Hawks looking for his first title collected eight kills (the team hit .400 in the set) through the first two sets to put Baruch on the Brink.
Looking to close out the match, Hunter led 5-1 in game four via three attack errors on the other side. But Baruch bounced back, as a service ace from sophomore middle hitter Steven Coniglio put the Bearcats up 13-10 and they were able to ride the wave home. A Newcomb service error closed out the third, with Baruch on top, 25-20. The Bearcats hit .308 with 12 kills and only four errors in game three, a huge improvement from the first two games, when the team was under .200.
In the fourth set, a pair of kills by Baruch's Jack McKee turned a 11-10 deficit to a 12-11 advantage, then Newcomb mishit on three consecutive attempts and Baruch was in full control, up 15-11. The Hawks seemed to fade away in the game failing to notch ten kills for the first time in the match. In complete contrast, Baruch was even stronger, hitting over .400 for the first time in the match, getting 18 kills and only four errors from their front line assault. Back-to-back kills by Christopher Kaimis and McKee made the tally 25-18 and sent the match into a fifth and deciding set.
Game five for all the glory started out with a McKee kill on a pass from Danny Olson. McKee added three more kills and Baruch held an 8-5 advantage when the teams switched sides for the final time. McKee finished the final set with seven kills, all from Olson, who had ten assists in the frame. On the final play, Nick Smith set the ball for Coniglio, who was error-free on the day, for the final kill.
McKee, who had more opportunities to swing today with injuries limiting senior all-star Vincent Cruz (three kills, four blocks) was outstanding with 27 kills (seven errors) on 48 attempts for a .417 hitting percentage. He also added eight digs and seven blocks. Olson tallied 55 assists and seven digs. Coniglio had 15 kills (.600) and Smith compiled 112 kills and seven digs in the victory.
"The great thing about volleyball is that it's all about scoring, there's always a chance to come back in volleyball," said McKee after he was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player. "The unity you need as a team and the ability to always be in any game is unique to volleyball. We knew we were a better team all year long."
Newcomb led the way for the Hawks with 27 kills (.278) as well, followed by Barty with 17 (.294). Martinez passed out 48 assists and picked up seven digs, while the team's libero Lodde led all players with 12 digs.
All-Tournament Team:Bryan Williams, York (Jr./6'4''/Brooklyn, NY/William Grady) - OPP
Keiran Halton, Brooklyn (Sr./6'4''/Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) - MH
Steven Coniglio, Baruch (So./6'5''/Plainview, NY/Plainview-Bethpage) - MB
Christopher Newcomb, Hunter (Sr./6'0''/Waimea, Hawaii/Wamea) - OH
Stanley Martinez, Hunter (So./6'3''/Bayside, NY/Cardozo) - S
Nick Smith, Baruch (So./6'1''/Long Beach, NY/ Long Beach) - S/OH
Most Valuable Player: Jack McKee, Baruch (So./6'6''/Bay Shore, NY/ West Islip) - RS/MB
Semifinal One: #1 Hunter 3, #5 Brooklyn (25-18, 25-18, 25-14) • Boxscore
The top-seeded Hunter Hawks swept the second semifinal on their home court, beating Brooklyn College 25-18, 25-18, 25-14, to set up the match everyone was anticipating, #11 Hunter (25-7) vs. #13 Baruch (22-4), beginning at 8:00 pm.
In the match, Eric Barty led the way with 10 kills, followed by Braien Otsla with seven kills. Sophomore setter Stanley Martinez collected 28 assists. The Hawks offense was in top form, hitting .418 for the match, compared to Brooklyn's .014.
The Bulldogs (10-14) were paced by senior Kieran Halton (10 kills) and setter Gene Tom with 18 assists.
Semifinal Two: #2 Baruch 3, #3 York 1 (19-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-18) • Boxscore
In the first semifinal on the night, the #3 seed, York College stormed out to 25-19 win in game one with five blocks on the set. But the three-time defending champion Baruch College rebounded with three decisive wins in the next three games - 25-16, 25-15, 25-18. The Bearcats will await the winner of the 6:00 pm semifinal between #1 Hunter College and #5 Brooklyn College for the right to represent CUNYAC in the inaugural NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship beginning next weekend. The final is scheduled for an 8:00 pm first serve.
Sophomore middle hitter Steven Coniglio led the charge with 14 kills, three digs and three aces. Christopher Kamis and Jack McKee each added 13 and 12 kills, respectively, for the Bearcats (22-14). Danny Olsen had 48 assists in the match, Baruch's fifth consecutive victory, as the team hit .263 after posting a .034 percentage following the first set.
York's (19-14) Bryan Williams led all players with 16 kills, while notching eight digs. The Cardinals rookie sensation Edner Geffard was held to seven kills and setter Glenn Vargas posted 30 assists in the match.
It was a historic day for the City University of New York Athletic Conference and the NCAA, as three matches will be played to declare a champion and the first-ever team to clinch a berth in the inaugural NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship will be determined. See our recent story on the newest NCAA Championship event here.
The recaps from the four quarterfinal matches on Tuesday are located here:
http://cunyathletics.com/news/2012/4/9/MVBALL_0409122716.aspx
- ww.cunyathletics.com -