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Men's Volleyball Earns First-Ever NECVA Tournament Berth
Posted: Mar 31, 2008

Men's Volleyball Earns First-Ever NECVA Tournament Berth

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL EARNS FIRST-EVER BERTH INTO NECVA TOURNAMENT

The Matchup: No. 3 Nazareth College (27-6) vs. No. 14 Elms College (19-9)
Date: Friday, April 4
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Site: Bradley Sports & Recreation Center (on the campus of Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ)
Click here for directions to Ramapo College
Click here for complete NECVA Tournament information
All-Time Series: Nazareth leads the series 1-0.
Last Meeting: Nazareth defeated Elms College 3-0 (30-17, 30-13, 30-21) on January 21, 2006 at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Setting The Scene: Elms College prepares for its first-ever appearance in the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Tournament after earning one of four at-large bids into the field of 16. The Blazers earned the No. 14 seed and enter the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the nation, having won 10 of their final 12 matches to conclude the regular season. Elms College had its program-record, seven-match win streak snapped with Saturday's 3-0 home loss to New England Division foe Endicott, which also earned an at-large bid and is seeded 12th in the NECVA Tournament. Freshman opposite Alberto Bravo (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) and freshman outside hitter Carlos DeLeon-Gomez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) provide a potent one-two punch for the Blazers, as the two have combined for 846 of the Blazers' 1,598 kills this season. The winner of the NECVA three-day NECVA Tournament receives the conference's automatic bid into the four-team Molten Division III Championship to be hosted at Springfield College.

Scouting The Opposition: Nazareth, which held the No. 1 ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III poll earlier this season, punched their ticket into the NECVA Tournament with an automatic qualifier via a second-place finish in the Western Division. The Golden Flyers make their third straight tournament appearance in the four-year history of the program. Nazareth had a five-match win streak snapped with a 3-0 loss to No. 15 Philadelphia Biblical last Saturday. Much like the Blazers, the Golden Flyers rely on their outside hitters for much of their offense, as senior Tom Maving (Tonawanda, NY) and junior Joe Petzoldt (Phelps, NY) have combined for 629 of Nazareth's 1,832 kills. The two have nearly identical numbers, as Petzoldt has 315 kills, while Maving has knocked down 314. Nazareth entered the final weekend of the regular season second in the NECVA in both hitting percentage and kills

Man In The Middle: Freshman middle blocker Curt Despard (Enfield, CT) was named NECVA Rookie of the Week for the week ending March 24. He blasted down 31 kills with just two errors in 40 swings for a sizzling .725 hitting percentage. The 6-8 Despard, who was also a force at the net with 14 total blocks, entered the final weekend of the regular season second in the NECVA in hitting percentage. Despard finished the regular season with 282 kills on 509 swings (.446) and also recorded a team-high 73 blocks.

Handing Out Helpers: Sophomore setter Ivan Andujar (Carolina, Puerto Rico), who began last week as the NCAA Division III national leader in assists per game, has handed out a program-record 1,371 helpers in just 28 matches. Andujar, who is also Elms College's all-time assist leader in just two seasons, was the NECVA's leader in assists per game heading into the final week of the regular season.

Diggin' It!: Junior outside hitter Marc Carrasco (Tucson, AZ) scooped up a team-leading 315 digs (3.05 per game) for the Blazers this season. Carrasco was ranked 11th nationally in digs in last week's NCAA Division III statistics report. He has also provided the Blazers with a solid third offensive threat from the outside, as he hammered down 195 kills in 28 matches.

A Pair of Aces: DeLeon-Gomez and Andujar were both among the nation's top 20 in service ace percentage. In the NCAA Division III statistics report on March 25, Andujar ranked fifth (.640), while DeLeon-Gomez stood 16th (.520).

Keeping Track Of Blazers' Athletics: The latest news, notes, and statistics on all 15 of Elms College's intercollegiate athletic programs can be found on the web at http://athletics.elms.edu/landing/index, or by calling the Sports Information Hotline at (413)-265-2414.