#3 SEED CHARGERS FALL TO #1 SEED SPARTANS IN ECC CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Orangeburg, N.Y. (4/21/20) The Dominican University New York men's volleyball team took on the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College this afternoon in the inaugural ECC Men's Volleyball Championship Finals from the campus of Dominican University and the Hennessy Center in Orangeburg, N.Y.
The #3 seed Chargers' comeback effort fell short as the #1 seed Spartans won the ECC title in five sets.
The Spartans came out strong in the first set pulling away from a 13-13 tie by using a 5-0 run and took a 1-0 lead after a 25-18 victory.
An evenly matched second set saw the largest lead for either team reach four points. STAC came out on top 25-23 in the second set to a 2-0 advantage.
The Chargers came out hot to start the third set scoring the first 10 points. STAC answered and went on a 19-8 run to take a one point lead. Both teams went back and forth down the stretch and the Chargers got the 28-26 victory to extend the match to the fourth set.
The fourth set saw the Chargers hold a late four point lead but STAC came fighting back using an 8-3 run to take a 21-20 lead.
Both teams traded points and went back and forth until the Chargers scored the final three points to take the fourth set 34-32 and evened the match at 2-2.
The fifth and decisive set saw the Spartans open the scoring 5-2. The Chargers fought back to tie but STAC went on a 10-3 run to secure the ECC Championship.
The Chargers were led by Phinehas Wiley (Cedarburg, Wisc.) who recorded 18 kills and scored 22.5 points by also adding four service aces and one block assist.
Ayden Shaw (Centennial, Colo.) recorded a career high 16 kills and also added four service aces, 11 digs, and three total blocks. Tyler Roukey (Hudson, Ohio) added a team-high 15 digs while Luke Koster (Geneva, Ill.) matched a career high 48 assists.
Gavin Tate (Appleton, Wisc.) and Jacob Davidson (Bloomington, Ind.) each recorded career highs in block assists and total blocks, combining for 16 total blocks.
The Spartans were led by Kyran Versteegen who had a match high 25 kills and 29 points. Joaquin La Jara recorded a match high 54 assists. Gabriel Vieira added 15 kills and nine digs while Versteegen also recorded nine digs and La Jara recorded eight.