Thiel College men’s volleyball wins its first conference championship in program history

Posted April 16, 2019 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- The Thiel College men’s volleyball team beat the tournament’s top two seeds on its way to the program’s first conference championship with a 3-1 win over Wittenberg in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference men’s volleyball championship on Saturday, April 14.

In the championship match, the Tomcats lost the first set, 25-22, but stormed back to win the next three, 25-18, 25-21, 25-20. The win caps an impressive finishing run for the Tomcats, who opened the 2019 season with a six-match losing streak.

Thiel was the third seed for the tournament and beat second seed Geneva College on Friday night in five sets. This is the Tomcats’ first season in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference after moving from the Continental Volleyball Conference.

Thiel finishes with a 17-12 overall record. The team’s 17 wins is its second-highest single-season total since the program started in 2010. The 2013 Tomcats were 20-12.

Jacob Burkley ’20, of Waterford, Pa., and Jacob DeRue ’20, of Fairport, N.Y., were named to the all-tournament team.