Baruch is No. 1 for No. 89

Posted: Apr 13, 2012
The Baruch Bearcats rallied to win the final three sets and become the first team to ever qualify for the NCAA Division III men's volleyball tournament.
CUNYAC photo by Greg Armstrong

Baruch stormed back after dropping the first two sets to win the 2012 CUNY Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Championship, defeating their host, Hunter, 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.

"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.