Nichols Earns Top Seed in NEVC Championship

Nichols Earns Top Seed in NEVC Championship
April 6, 2024

MANSFIELD, Mass. – After finishing regular season conference play undefeated, with a record of 7-0, Nichols College has secured the top seed in the New England Volleyball Conference (NEVC) Championship. The Bison are the defending champions, and enter the postseason ranked No. 11 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Poll.

Nichols leads the league with 12.03 kills per set, behind senior Jack Normandin’s 3.52 kills per set, which is good for second in the league, and his 285 kills, which is tops in the NEVC. Teammate Dylan Knapp leads the league with a .462 hitting percentage. The Bison have earned a first-round bye and will await the winner of No. 4 SUNY Poly (4-3) and No. 5 SUNY Potsdam (3-4).

No. 4 SUNY Poly will host the first-round match-up with the Bears. Their defense is led by middle blocker James Mion, who is second in the league with 0.76 blocks per set. SUNY Potsdam is also a strong blocking team, as Matt Kilinski leads the league with 0.84 blocks per set. The New York showdown will take place on Tuesday, April 9 at 6:00 p.m.

Eastern Nazarene College locked up the No. 2 seed, finishing with a record of 6-1 in conference play. The Lions are led by the 2023 Player of the Year, Alejandro Garcia Fernandez, who leads the league with 4.34 kills per set. Eastern Nazarene will face the winner of the match-up between No. 3 Endicott College and No. 6 Russell Sage College, who will face off in a first-round match-up on Tuesday, April 9.

The Endicott offense, which is second in the league with 11.43 kills per set, runs through setter Gavin Emenaker, who leads the NEVC with 8.16 assists per set. Sage is led by newcomer Dylan Fox’s 257 total kills, which places him in the top three in the league.

The winners of the two semifinal matchups on Thursday will meet for the NECC title match on Saturday, April 13 at the highest remaining seed.

Seeds 

1. Nichols (7-0) 

2. Eastern Nazarene (6-1)

3. Endicott (5-2) 

4. SUNY Poly (4-3) 

5. SUNY Potsdam (3-4) 

6. Sage (2-5) 

 

2024 NEVC Championship Schedule
 
First Round- Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Game 1: No. 5 SUNY Potsdam at No. 4 SUNY Poly – 6:00 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Sage at No. 3 Endicott – 7:00 p.m.
 
Semifinals - Thursday, April 11, 2024
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 at No. 1 Nichols- 7:00 p.m. 
Game 4: Winner of Game 2 at No. 2 Eastern Nazarene – 7:00 p.m.
 
Championship - Saturday, April 13, 2024 (at highest remaining seed) 
Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4- TBD 

 

ABOUT THE NEVC

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The NEVC is a NCAA Division III single-sport conference sponsoring the sport of men’s volleyball. The conference is comprised of eight institutions, Bard College, Eastern Nazarene College, Endicott College, Nichols College, Northern Vermont University – Johnson, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, SUNY Potsdam and Russell Sage College.