It doesn't take long for participants in the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Final Four to introduce themselves this weekend at Loras University's Lillis Athletics and Wellness Center.
New York University and Vassar College both play every other team on the field at least once during the regular season, and California Lutheran University and Stevens Institute of Technology each play one of the other three teams on the field. They are playing against two teams. All four teams were also selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American team, with Cal Lutheran and Stevens selected three times, New York University selected twice and Vassar selected once.
Stevens will play Cal Lutheran in the first semifinal on Friday at 5 p.m., and Vassar will face conference rival New York University in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m.
Here's a capsule view of the four teams heading to Lilith Court this weekend for the Final Four.
California Lutheran Kingsmen
Location — Thousand Oaks, California
Coach — Kevin Judd (9th season)
How they got here — The Kingsmen earned a shot at being one of the top independent programs in the country. They dominated the Dominicans 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, then survived a rally against site host Loras to win 3-2 in the Elite Eight.
Field game — Jan. 13, 3-1 win over Vassar. They defeated New York University 3-1 on January 20th.
TRENDING — Cal Lutheran has won six games in a row. The longest winning streak this season was eight games. Eleven of the games were against ranked opponents, including a 3-0 loss to the No. 1 opponent in the world at the time. 14 Loras, Aurora, Illinois. The Kingsmen also defeated the Dominican Republic 3-2 earlier in the season.
All-Americans — Taylor Marks (setter), Jordan Cooper (outside hitter), Michael Staal (outside hitter).
Statistical leaders — Kills: Cooper 363, Staal 325, Ben Weber 220, Boris Holik 167. Assists: Taylor Marks 1,052, Logan Marks 60. Aces: Cooper 45, Taylor Marks 32, Staal 28, Horiuk 20. Digs: Logan Marks 216, Taylor Marks 213, Stahl 189. Blocks: Horiuk 75, Cooper 51, Staal 48, Taylor Marks 40.
new york university violets
Coach — Jose Piña (31 seasons)
Conference — United Volleyball Conference
How we got here — The Violets defeated Vassar 3-1 in the conference championship match to earn the automatic bid. They defeated Baruch College 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and defeated Southern Virginia University 3-2 in Lexington, Virginia in the Elite 8 round.
On the field — Lost 3-1 to Cal Lutheran on Jan. 13. On February 21st, they defeated New York University 3-0. On March 30th, they lost 3-0 to Stevens. On April 14th, they lost 3-1 to New York University.
TRENDS — NYU has won 10 straight games, the longest winning streak of the season.
All-Americans — Ry Kagan (middle blocker), Zach Knudsen (libero).
Statistical leaders — Kills: Lukas Osicki 269, Luke Boyer 259, Kagan 237, Emerson Evans 209, Buddy Cohen 132. Assists: Devin Nguyen 869, Sachin Dasari 147. Aces: Osicki 33, Boyer 26, Evans 24, Matthew Warter 24. : Knudsen 243, Osiekiw 166, Boyer 147, Nguyen 140. Blocks: Kagan 109, Cohen 100, Evans 63.
Stevens Institute of Technology ducks
Location — Hoboken, New Jersey
Coach — Dan Buehling (4th season)
Conference — Mid-Atlantic
How we got here — The Ducks defeated Misericordia University 3-0 to win the Mid-Atlantic Championship. They hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Hiram College 3-0 in the semifinals and No. 6 Juniata 3-1 in the Elite 8 round.
Field game — Defeated New York University 3-0 on February 14th. They defeated Vassar 3-0 on March 30th.
Trending — Stevens won 30 games in a row after losing 3-2 to then-No. 2 Wentworth Institute of Technology, January 20th.
All-Americans — Connor Feulner (middle blocker), Koby Sherman (right side), Louden Moran (setter).
Statistical leaders — Kills: Sherman 247, Percy Bickford 197, Nathan Lancia 169, Feulner 226, Tyler Hawk 169. Assists: Moran 714, Sebastian Huyk 228, Nick Schmidt 146. Aces: Moran 30, Sherman 17, Feulner 16. Digs: Jesse Knuckles 153, Moran 149, Lancia 113, Sherman 111. Blocks: Hawk 91, Feulner 87, Sherman 57.
Vassar College Brewer
Location — Poughkeepsie, New York
Coach — Richard Gary (8 seasons)
Conference — United Volleyball Conference
How they got here — The Brewers earned an at-large berth after losing a 3-1 decision to New York University in the conference championship match. They won the league's regular season title. Vassar College defeated Nicholls College, 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and defeated No. 3 Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-2, in the Elite 8 round.
On the field — Lost 3-1 to Cal Lutheran on Jan. 21. On February 14th, they lost 3-0 to Stevens. On February 21st, they lost 3-0 to Vassar. On April 14, they defeated Vassar 3-1.
Trending — Stevens has won two straight and six of seven games. The Brewers won seven straight games at one point in the season.
All-American — Jacob Kim (setter).
Statistical leaders — Kills: Vaughn Ramsey 266, Kim 253, Gavin Akoto 158, Billy Huang 138, Payne Lounsbury 128. Assists: AJ Erickson 576, Kim 410, Parker Schonle 107. Aces: Kim 32, Hwang 32, Lounsbury 30. Tadger Shahn 278, Erickson 123, Hwang 111, Lounsberry 107, Kim 96. Blocks: Akoto 72, Ramsey 66, Kim 55, Armand Desai 48.