CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL 

NEW YORK - Top-seeded New Jersey City University captured the 2026 CUNY Athletic Conference men's volleyball championship with a 3-1 victory over No. 3 seed and defending champion Baruch College Friday night at the Hunter Sportsplex.  Set scores were 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19.

The Gothic Knights earn the CUNYAC's automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship with their first CUNYAC title.

NJCU (20-9) was led by Marcus Pardasie who racked up 17 kills on .359 hitting while also recording 10 digs.  Amaru Perales totaled eight kills and six total blocks (one solo), while Victor De Souza chipped in with seven, hitting .375.  Championship Most Valuable Player Alex Casais handed out 36 assists, while defensively, Matt Peralta and Anthony Matute added eight and seven digs, respectively.  Casais and De Souza each had four block assists for the Gothic Knights, who hit .281 as a team.

Baruch (14-13), which saw a streak of five straight conference titles snapped, was led by Peter Gavroff's 13 kills and nine digs.  Argjend Osmanaj posted a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, while CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Benjamin Nirenstein added 10 kills and seven digs.  Ari Osmanaj recorded 23 assists, while Valentin Rodriguez finished with 15.  The Bearcats were limited to .040 hitting for the match.

New Jersey City took control early, jumping out to a 10-3 lead in the first set and growing its lead to as many as 11.  In the second, NJCU took control with a 5-0 spurt to take an 18-13 lead on a Pardasie kill.

The Gothic Knights appeared poised to put the match away in the third, leading 23-19, before Baruch reeled off six straight points to force a fourth set as four different Bearcats recorded kills during the run.  In the fourth, NJCU gradually pulled away, building a 17-11 lead and leading by at least five the rest of the frame.

2026 CUNYAC Men's Volleyball Championship All-Tournament Team
MVP: Alex Casais, New Jersey City
Marcus Pardasie, New Jersey City
Amaru Perales, New Jersey City
Peter Gavroff, Baruch
Benjamin Nirenstein, Baruch
Ahmed Mohamed, Hunter
NIck Fuentes, John Jay

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