Box Score

NEW YORK, N.Y. (April 14, 2023) – In front of a hostile environment at the Hunter Sportsplex, the second-seeded Baruch Bearcats defeated its arch-rival and top-seeded Hunter Hawks in four sets (20-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-19) to win the 2023 CUNYAC Men’s Volleyball Championship. With the victory, the Bearcats earn the league’s automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship.
 
For an eighteenth time in CUNYAC history, the two Lexington Avenue schools competed to hoist the championship trophy. After losing both regular season meetings against the Hawks, Baruch won the match that mattered most, earning conference bragging rights for a third consecutive season and a 13th time in program history.
 
Jack Centeno was named the championship’s Most Valuable Player for a second straight season, finishing with 12 kills, 10 digs and three blocks.
 
Haoxin Hu produced a team-high 15 kills in the victory, while Ryan Oommen dished out a team-high 26 assists.
 
The opening frame was as advertised, featuring six ties and five lead changes. Knotted at 19, Hunter scored four straight points and six of the next seven to win the game, 25-20.
 
The second game remained closely contested throughout. Trailing 23-19, Baruch battled back with four straight points to knot the set. Tied at 25, the Bearcats took the lead off a Hunter error and closed out the frame with a block from Centeno to tie the series at 1-1.   
 
Baruch rode its generated momentum in the third set. Tied at 5, the Bearcats scored three consecutive points to build a lead they did not relinquish for the reminder of the frame. Baruch led by as much as 11 in the set to win the game, 25-19, to take a 2-1 series advantage.   
 
In the fourth and final set of the evening, tied at 7-7, Baruch pulled away with an 11-4 run to open up an 18-11 advantage and not look back, going on to secure conference supremacy.
 
Hunter’s Ted Kim finished with a match-high 19 kills, while Cooper Moran handed out a match-best 42 assists in the loss.
 
The NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Selection Show will air Monday at 10 AM ET on NCAA.com. 
 
2023 CUNYAC Men’s Volleyball Championship All-Tournament Team
Championship MVP: Jack Centeno, Baruch
Ryan Oommen, Baruch
Defeng Han, Baruch
Cooper Moran, Hunter
Ted Kim, Hunter
Logan Ramos, John Jay
Jeffrey Celis, CCNY