CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

Championship Match • #1 Baruch defeated #2 Hunter • 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-18) • Box Score

Baruch College won its' third consecutive CUNYAC/Emblem Health Tournament Championship and sixth all-time in team history by sweeping rival Hunter College in three sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-18) on Friday night in the ARC Arena.

The victory is Baruch’s 51st consecutive victory against CUNYAC men’s volleyball opposition (regular & postseason) and marks the third consecutive season with at least 30 wins with Allison Stack as Head Coach.

"We are peaking at the perfect time this season," said Stack. Everyone has picked up their game lately and we are in position to make a run. This is a better team than we had last season [when the Bearcats only had three losses], because we have great team chemistry and this team fits together better."

The Bearcats (30-12) also clinch the CUNYAC’s automatic berth to the 16-team North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Postseason Tournament that will be hosted by the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey on Friday, April 1 through Sunday, April 3. The match ups for the tournament will be announced on Monday, March 28.

The Bearcats won the championship by pounding out 38 kills with a .275 hitting percentage, while Hunter recorded 21 kills (.000).

Vincent Cruz (.400) and Steven Coniglio (.800) led the attack with nine kills each, while CUNYAC Tournament MVP Jesus Echevarria dished out 31 assists and three kills.

"It's been a great experience playing with all the seniors on this team," said Echevarria, who was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. "They're steady and they put me in position to make great passes every day."

Eryk Kowalski also had a solid all-around match with seven kills (.375) and a team-high 10 digs on the defensive end.

Braien Otsla led Hunter (18-16) with seven kills, four digs and two service aces.

The Bearcats reached the final by sweeping York College in three sets in the semifinal earlier today with scores of 25-11, 25-14, 25-7. The Hawks also won in straight sets in the semifinals earlier in the day via a 25-21, 25-14, 25-21 victory over Lehman College.

At the Championship event, the CUNY Athletic Conference raised funds for the relief efforts from the Earthquate & Tsunami Disaster in Japan and we are proud to announce that $200 was collected at Baruch College. The entire amount, which is doubled from CUNYAC's Breast Cancer Awareness fund last November, will be donated directly to the American Red Cross on behalf of the Conference.

Combined with the $70 CUNYAC raised at the Women's Volleyball Championship, CUNYAC fans have rallied to the tune of $270.00 for these worthy charities.

Semifinal 1: #2 Hunter defeated. #3 Lehman • 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-21) • Box Score

Pushing for its first championship game appearance since 2002 when Lehman defeated City College of New York, the Lightning instead bowed out in three sets – 25-21, 25-14, 25-21 – to the No. 2 seed Hunter College in the semifinals of the CUNYAC/EmblemHealth Men's Volleyball Championships held at Baruch College on Friday night.

The loss completes a 16-11 season for the Lightning, while also ending the team's six-game winning streak dating back to March 8 when Lehman defeated Medgar Evers in straight sets.

Fresh off its quarterfinal win over Brooklyn College in the quarterfinals, Lehman fell behind 13-8 in the first set thanks to an aggressive-blocking Hunter team which turned back three Lightning shots in the early going. For the match, the Hawks blocked 10 Lehman shots, with Braien Otsla leading the way with six blocking assists.

Trailing 17-14, Lehman closed to within 17-16 on a kill by Nate Martin and an attack error by Otsla. However, following what would prove to be a theme throughout the match, the Lightning could not put together a sustained run, instead watching as Hunter took the next two points on a kill by Albert Chi and a service ace from Stanley Martinez. Lehman would once again pull within two points at 23-21, but it was too little, too late as Hunter took the next two to close out the first set.

Similar to the previous set, Hunter took an early lead and then watched the Lightning battle back to tie at 8-8. From that point on, though, the Hawks went on a 9-2 run to take a commanding 17-10 lead on their way to a relatively easy 25-14 win.

Facing an uphill climb down two sets to none, the Lightning fought valiantly in the third, taking a 3-2 lead. The advantage for Lehman was its first of the match, but ultimately proved to be its last, as Hunter combined an overwhelming attack, some excellent receiving, and several Lehman errors to send the Lightning home earlier than it had hoped.

Playing in their final CUNYAC matches, seniors Nate Martin and R.J. LeBlanc combined for 12 kills and 10 digs, with LeBlanc also adding two service aces. Setter Miguel Gallardo recorded 20 assists in the loss.

“This was a really great group to coach,” said Lehman head coach Wolfgang Lucena. “We developed over the season, finished on a six-game winning streak, but it's hard to win against a team like Hunter when you're not playing at your best.
 

Semifinal 2:  #1 Baruch defeated #4 York • 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-7) • Boxscore

The men’s volleyball team advanced to their seventh consecutive conference final by sweeping York College (25-11, 25-14, 25-7) in a CUNYAC/Emblem Health semifinal match on Friday night in the ARC Arena.

The Bearcats hit for a.477 hitting percentage with 34 total kills, compared to only 13 by York (-0.54).

Vincent Cruz had one of his finest career matches with 10 kills (no errors) to go along with a torrid .909 hitting percentage. Pablo Oliveira (.429) and Steven Coniglio (.889) recorded eight kills each to help Baruch extend their overall CUNYAC win streak to 50 matches.

CUNYAC Tournament MVP
Jesus Echevarria (Baruch)

CUNYAC All-Tournament Team
Eric Barty (Hunter)
Vincent Cruz (Baruch)
Miguel Gallardo (Lehman)
Eryk Kowalski (Baruch)
Braien Otsla (Hunter)

-- CUNYAthletics.com  --