COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (April 9, 2016) – University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh won its third straight NCVF Collegiate Club Volleyball Championship in Men’s Division I on Saturday night, while Ohio State University claimed the Women’s Division I title at the Kentucky Fair and Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on the final day of the competition.
Out of the 10 division championships, seven title matches went the full three sets (best-of-three matches) providing thrilling outcomes throughout the day. Also, colleges from nine different states claimed titles. A total of 432 teams competed in the three-day event, which is divided into divisions based on enrollment.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh, seeded third in the tournament, rallied in the third set to defeat Penn State University 25-21, 22-25, 15-13 in the championship match in a battle of undefeated teams. Wisconsin-0shkosh, which finished 9-0 in the tournament, topped Arizona State A 25-19, 25-22 in the quarterfinals and Virginia Tech A 15-25, 25-21, 15-12 in the semifinals to earn a spot in the championship match. Penn State, seeded ninth in the tournament, advanced to the title match by sweeping Cal Poly A 25-21, 26-24 in the quarterfinals and University of Arizona A 25-23, 25-19 in the semifinals. Travis Hudson earned the Men’s Division I most valuable player award for the second consecutive year.
Ohio State University claimed the Women’s Division I title by sweeping Michigan State University in the title match. Ohio State, which finished undefeated in nine matches with only one set loss as the tournament’s No. 3 seed, reached the title match by sweeping Cal Poly 25-13, 26-24 in the quarterfinals and UCLA 25-23, 25-20 in the semifinals. Michigan State, the seventh seed in the tournament, reached the finals by defeating UC San Diego 25-20, 25-20 in the quarterfinals and Texas 21-25, 25-19, 17-15 in the semifinals. The Spartans ended the tournament with a 7-3 record. Ohio State’s Jen Kowalski was named the Women’s Division I most valuable player.
Boston University edged out University of Virginia 19-25, 25-17, 15-13 to win the Men’s Division IAA title. Boston U, which avenged its only loss of the tournament to Virginia in the flight championship round, reached the championship match by sweeping Baylor University A 25-21, 25-20 in the quarterfinals and Florida State University 25-18, 25-23 in the semifinals. Boston U, the top seed in the tournament, finished the tournament with an 8-1 record. Virginia, which finished 8-2 overall as the eighth seed, overcame a tournament-opening loss to reach the finals with wins over University of Delaware A 25-17, 23-25, 25-20 in the quarterfinal round and UC Riverside 25-23, 25-20 in the semifinals. Boston U’s Matt Lee was chosen most valuable player in Men’s Division IAA.
Florida State University edged Stanford University 25-22, 25-27, 17-15 to win the Women’s Division IAA title with an undefeated record in nine matches. Florida State earned its spot in the title match by edging Winona State University 25-20, 21-25, 15-13 in the quarterfinals and sweeping Ball State University 25-17, 25-22 in the semifinals. Florida State, which dropped just two sets in the tournament, was the 18th seed to start the tournament. Stanford, the 10th seed and 7-3 overall, was ticketed to the championship match by defeating North Carolina State University 25-21, 25-16 in the quarterfinals to avenge a pool play loss and Duke University 25-22, 25-15 in the semifinals. Florida State’s Brittany Wonka was selected most valuable player of the Women’s Division IAA.
University of Georgia came back to defeat George Washington University 23-25, 25-20, 15-12 in the Men’s Division IAAA title match in a battle of undefeated teams. Georgia, which finished 9-0 in the tournament as the 24th seed, swept College of New Jersey 25-13, 25-17 in the quarterfinals and Georgetown 25-23, 25-20 in the semifinals. George Washington, the 10th seed, advanced to the title match by blanking Penn State-Harrisburg 25-18, 25-14 in the quarterfinals and rallied past University of Alabama 22-25, 25-22, 15-13 in the semifinals. Georgia’s Chris Ragas was tabbed most valuable player in Men’s Division IAAA.
Colorado State University dominated Auburn University 25-11, 25-13 to win the Women’s Division IAAA title. Colorado State, which was 8-0 in the tournament with only two set losses as the tournament’s third seed, moved into the title match after beating host University of Louisville 25-13, 21-25, 15-9 in the quarterfinals and University of Oklahoma A 20-25, 25-23, 16-14 in the semifinals. Auburn, which finished with a 7-2 record, booked its ticket to the finals by defeating Arizona State A 22-25, 25-23, 15-12 in the quarterfinals and Oklahoma State University 25-22, 19-25, 15-9 in the semifinals. Colorado State’s Calla Urban was named the most valuable player in Women’s Division IAAA.
Messiah College held off Chapman University 25-22, 24-26, 15-8 to win the Men’s Division II title in a battle of undefeated teams. Messiah, which lost its only set of the tournament in the title match, reached the championship match by defeating Saint Louis University A 25-19, 25-14 in the quarterfinals and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire A 25-18, 25-22 in the semifinals. Messiah, the second seed in the tournament, finished the tournament 9-0 to earn its fourth overall title. Chapman, the fifth seed, earned its spot in the title match by edging Baldwin-Wallace University 25-19, 21-25, 15-7 in the quarterfinals and Loyola Marymount University 25-16, 23-25, 15-8 in the semifinals. Messiah’s Nate Miller claimed the most valuable player award in Men’s Division II.
University of San Francisco captured the Women’s Division II crown by sweeping University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse 25-18, 25-18 in a battle of undefeated teams in the title match. San Francisco, which dropped just one set along the way as the seventh seed, reached the title match with a sweep over University of Minnesota Duluth 25-17, 25-19 in the quarterfinals followed by a 25-19, 25-23 semifinal win over Wake Forest. UW-LaCrosse, the eighth-seed in the tournament, topped Wisconsin-Green Bay 25-20, 29-27 in the quarterfinals and Xavier 23-25, 25-23, 15-5 in the semifinals to reach the championship match. San Francisco’s Miranda Roberts earned the division’s most valuable player honor.
University of Arizona B edged University of Missouri B 25-19, 21-25, 15-8 to win its second straight Men’s Division III title. Arizona, which finished 9-0 with only three set losses as the second seed, earned its spot in the finals by sweeping University of Oshkosh C 25-21, 25-15 in the quarterfinals and Cal Poly 25-18, 25-17 in the semifinals. Missouri, with an 7-3 overall record as the seventh seed in the tournament including a three-set loss to Arizona in the flight championship on Friday, swept Virginia Tech B 25-14, 25-22 in the quarterfinals and Indiana University 25-17, 25-18 in the semifinals. Arizona’s Ryan Callaghan was selected as the Men’s Division III most valuable player.
Cal Poly B rallied to defeat Michigan State B 15-25, 25-20, 15-9 to win its third consecutive Women’s Division III title. Cal Poly, which finished 8-1 in the tournament with six of its nine matches going the full three sets, reached the championship match by beating University of Oregon B 21-25, 25-16, 15-11 in the quarterfinals and UCLA B 25-18, 25-21 in the semifinals. Cal Poly was the 10th seed entering the tournament. Michigan, which was undefeated heading into the championship match before finishing 8-1, rallied to beat University of Missouri B 21-25, 25-19, 15-13 in the quarterfinals before easing past LSU B 25-22, 25-17 in the semifinals. Michigan was seeded 28th to start the tournament. Cal Poly’s Sheila Clapp was named the most valuable player in Women’s Division III.
The NCVF acts as the national governing body for organized collegiate club volleyball competitions. For over two decades, NCVF volunteers have provided a full range of support for student club teams by promoting year-long affordable, organized and competitive volleyball events, and supporting a season-ending national championship tournament. It is made up of students, volleyball conference commissioners, player representatives, coaches, officials, trainers, recreation sports directors and many volunteers. The organization devotes 100 percent of its resources and funding toward the support of quality collegiate club volleyball activities.
All-Tournament Teams
Men’s Division IA: MVP – Travis Hudson (Wisconsin-Oshkosh). First-Team – Allen Grunert (Wisconsin-Oshkosh A), Tyler Range (Wisconsin-Oshkosh), Nick Allen (Virginia Tech A), Dan Nugent (Virginia Tech A), Dylan Hose (Penn State A), Ib Almoaiqel (Penn State A), Griffin Galvin (Arizona A). Second-Team – Sam Albus (Virginia Tech A), Danny Kingstad (Wisconsin), Joey Farrell (Penn State A), Michael Desino (Penn State), Luke Bausback (Cal Poly), Ryan Walsh (Arizona), Drake Silbernagel (Arizona State A).
Women’s Division IA: MVP – Jen Kowalski (Ohio State A). First-Team – Emma Floyd (Michigan State A), Abby Wietrzykowski (Michigan State A), Maddy Colton (Ohio State A), Katie Carte (UCLA), Emily Masterson (Arizona A), Alexandra Bol (UC Davis), Ana Mooney (Texas A). Second-Team – Alicia Chen (UC San Diego), Sydney Riegert (UC San Diego), Coral Evans (Minnesota A), Amanda Yee (UCLA), Sarah O’Connor (Arizona A), Marie Zimmerman (Colorado A), Katie Medell (Texas A).
Men’s Division IAA: MVP – Matt Lee (Boston U). First-Team – Steven Xie (Boston U), Cesar Hernandez (Boston U), Aiden Blanco (UC Riverside), Pedro Bringas (Syracuse A), Graeme Wren (Virginia A), John Valeiras (Virginia A), Charles Perez (Florida State). Second Team – Eric O’Connor (Boston U), Greg Vogel (North Carolina State), Brian Miller (Washington State), Joe Murphy (Virginia A), Chris Harris (Florida State), Colin McGuire (Baylor A), Tyler Wojcik (Delaware A).
Women’s Division IAA: MVP – Brittany Wonka (Florida State). First-Team – Carley Siegel (Winona State), Joy Robinson (Stanford), Brie Saur (North Carolina State), Morgan Floritto (Toledo), Natasha Sakraney (Duke), KB Haskins (Maryland), Makenna Wilbrett (Florida State). Second-Team – Kaila Potting (Winona State), Elisabeth Stedman (North Carolina State), Madison George (Toledo), Lindsey Cron (Ball State), Lyndsey Garcia (Duke), Dina Xie (Duke), Rachel Stacy (Florida State).
Men’s Division IAAA: MVP – Chris Ragan (Georgia). First-Team – Russell Kreider (Penn State-Harrisburg), Ian Wong (George Washington), Ikechukwu Ikeri (George Washington), Luke Nassif (Georgetown), Sam Wolfe (Alabama), Sam Welty (Georgia), Brandon Schuster (Georgia).
Women’s Division IAAA: MVP – Calla Urban (Colorado State). First-Team – Katie Dunn (Oklahoma State), Baylee Barsalou (Oklahoma State), Olenka Tuleja (Colorado State), Taylor Reed (Auburn), Hannah Kowal (Auburn), Chandler Coolbaugh (Oklahoma A), Liliana Campon (Oklahoma A).
Men’s Division II: MVP – Nate Miller (Messiah). First-Team – Cole Hoover (Messiah), Logan Hunsberger (Messiah), Justin Parks (Chapman), Ben Geleris (Chapman), Stephen Simpson (Sonoma State), Taylor Braun (Chapman), Justin Joseph (Loyola Marymount) Second-Team – Travis Hoover (Messiah), Pierce Moriarty (Wisconsin-Eau Claire A), Beau Rath (Wisconsin-LaCrosse), Adam Baltz (Wisconsin-LaCrosse), Derek Lindquist (Wisconsin-Eau Claire A), Earl Schultz (Claremont), Jeff Granger (Baldwin-Wallace).
Women’s Division II: MVP – Miranda Roberts (San Francisco). First-Team – Liz Thornton (Wake Forest), Allison Largent (Xavier), Bre Nedden (Wisconsin-LaCrosse), Katie McCarthy (Wisconsin-LaCrosse), Rachel Hadley (Sonoma Stata A), Courtney Wirtanen (Minnesota-Duluth), Sydney Beyma (San Francisco).
Men’s Division III: MVP – Ryan Callaghan (Arizona B). First-Team – Mike Timmerberg (Indiana B), Nick Venhaus (Missouri B), Matthew Schmittdiel (Missouri B), Brian Huch (Missouri B), Connor Jordan (Cal Poly), Charlie De La Vara (Arizona B), Cason Chaffee (Arizona B).
Women’s Division III: MVP – Sheila Clapp (Cal Poly B). First-Team – Anna Swanson (Michigan State B), Maddie Andres (Michigan State B), Sammie Spelman (Cal Poly B), Jess Draime (Ohio State B), Olivia Liu (Wisconsin B), Angela Wells (Oregon B), Hannah Galloway (Grand Valley State B).