2009 Molten Division III

Invitational Championship


Juniata wins its sixth national title

By Mike Miazga

Juniata College is back on the top of the Division III men’s volleyball world.

The Eagles swept Stevens Institute of Technology (30-26, 30-25, 30-19) to win the 2009 Molten Division III Invitational Championship at the Bill Bradley Sports and Recreation Center on the campus of Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J.

Juniata has now won six Molten titles (the de facto Division III national championship) and five in the last six years. Juniata had a string of four-straight Molten victories snapped last year.
           
Top-seeded Juniata has reached the title match seven times in its 10 Molten appearances.
           
Junior outside hitter Zach Wanner led Juniata with 15 kills and hit .429 to go with five blocks in the title win. Evan Halteman added 14 kills and hit .684.

Senior setter Matt Werle, an AVCA Division III All-American, handed out 37 assists and set Juniata to a .387 hitting percentage en route to being named the tournament MVP. Wanner and junior libero Anthony Damiano were also named to the all-tournament team.
           
Joe Trinsey led No. 2 seed Stevens with 11 kills. Andrew Cranford and Tomas Bochicchio each had nine kills and both were named to the all-tournament team. Cranford was also named the AVCA Division III men’s player of the year.
           
The two teams had met earlier in the year with Juniata picking up a five-set win.
           
No. 3 seed UC Santa Cruz downed No. 4 Ramapo in five sets to win the consolation match.

NECVA Championship

Fourth-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology defeated No. 2 seed Nazareth College to win the 15th annual North East Collegiate Volleyball Association tournament at Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the Rockwell Cage in Cambridge, Mass.
           
Stevens, under the direction of retiring coach Patrick Dorywalski, won its fourth NECVA title in the last seven years and earned the 43-team conference’s automatic bid into the Molten Division III Invitational.
           
Nazareth had a 14-match winning streak snapped.

Bochicchio led the Ducks with a match-high 21 kills and added 12 digs. Trinsey had 20 kills and hit .528 (1 error on 36 swings). Cranford had 17 kills (1 error on 28 swings, .571 hitting). Cranford, the league’s player of the year, earned tournament MVP honors. Trinsey and sophomore setter Brandt Grobeis were also named to the all-tournament team.