For the third time since the Division III men’s volleyball championships were introduced by the NCAA in 2012, SUNY New Paltz are the class of the sport.
The Hawks took home the trophy on Saturday in Union, New Jersey with a 3-1 win over the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs at Harwood Arena.
It’s the Hawks second national championship, with the first coming in 2016.
DIII CHAMPIONSHIP: View the interactive bracket | Printable bracket | Championship history
New Paltz fell in the first set of the day (25-23), but then won three straight (25-18, 25-17, 25-15) to win the title. Nick Smith’s kill, with an assist from Matthew Grace, sealed the win.
The Hawks were led by Aaron Carrk, who finished the day with 19 kills. Grace tallied 53 assists, while Robert Nolan notched 12 digs.
In the semifinals on Friday, April 26, SUNY New Paltz topped Springfield 3-1 and UC Santa Cruz swept Stevens 3-0.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!! @npvb_mens @NCAADIII @NCAAVolleyball #NPHawks #NPHawksMVB #d3vb #npsocial #CHAMPIONS #THERESONLYONE 🏐🦅🏆 pic.twitter.com/iAHzIe1pfU
— New Paltz Hawks (@nphawks) April 27, 2019
We had live updates below from both semifinals and the championship match.
| Date/time (ET) | matchup | Live stream | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, April 26, 4 p.m. | SUNY New Paltz 3, Springfield 1 | Box score |
| Friday, April 26, 6:30 p.m. | UC Santa Cruz 3, Stevens 0 | Box score |
| Saturday, April 27, 6 p.m. | SUNY New Paltz 3, UC Santa Cruz 1 (Championship game) | Box score |
COMPLETE NCAA.COM LIVE SCHEDULE
2019 NCAA DIII men's volleyball championship bracket
Fourteen schools were originally selected for the 2019 tournament. Of the remaining four teams, only SUNY New Paltz was an automatic qualifier via conference championship (United Volleyball Conference). Springfield and UC Santa Cruz were selected at-large out of Pool B while Stevens came out of Pool C.
Here was each team's road to the national semifinals:
SUNY New Paltz (26-7)
Springfield (27-2)
- First round: BYE
- Quarterfinals: Defeated Rivier, 3-0
UC Santa Cruz (20-16)
Stevens (29-5)
- First round: BYE
- Quarterfinals: Defeated Wells, 3-2
Springfield has won the past two national titles, and five of the seven since the DIII men's volleyball championship was introduced in 2012. SUNY New Paltz (2016) and Stevens (2015) are responsible for the other two titles. Click here for the full championship history.
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