Men’s Volleyball Tops Endicott College, 3-1, Advances to Inaugural NCAA Division III Championship

BEVERLY, Mass. – Elms College junior outside hitter Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) smashed a match-high 17 kills and was named tournament MVP as the second-seeded Blazers topped No. 1 Endicott College, 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-18) to win their second New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) tournament title since 2009 and earned a berth in the first-ever NCAA Division III Championship for men's volleyball.

Elms improves to 20-7 on the season, tying the program's single-season wins mark set in 2009, and will await its opponent in the upcoming NCAA tournament. The selection show will take place at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 15.

After falling behind, 1-0 in the match following a 25-22 first-set victory by Endicott (16-14), Elms rallied to win the next two sets by scores of 25-23, and concluded its run to its first-ever NCAA Division III Championship with a 25-18 win in the fourth set to complete its 3-1 victory - the team's first over Endicott since the 2009 season.

Leading 2-1 in the match, Elms broke a 7-7 tie in the fourth frame using a 8-3 run to set the score at 15-10 and maintained at least a three-point cushion and extended its lead to as many as six (22-16) on a kill by Cameron.

A kill by Endicott's Matt Devendorf (Glastonbury, Conn.) pulled the Gulls to within five at 23-18, but Cameron and freshman middle hitter Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) combined for an assisted block, and Cameron followed up with a service ace to seal the match and punch the Blazers' ticket to the NCAA tournament.

Cameron hit at a sensational .389 clip (17K, 3E, 36TA), served up three aces and added eight digs in addition to assisting on three blocks. Sophomore setter Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) was equally stellar with his defensive efforts and directing the offense, tallying a match-high 22 digs and distributing 47 assists.

Elms' sophomore middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) added 12 kills and nine digs, while senior outside hitter Carlos DeLeon (Carolina, Puerto Rico) finished with 10 kills and eight digs in the winning effort.

Senior outside hitter Yonalvy Acosta (Holyoke, Mass.) totaled eight kills and 12 digs, while Castro added four assists, nine kills, and six digs. Acosta and Lebron were also named all-tournament for Elms.

Endicott was led by Thomas Stoeckinger (Malibu, Calif.) who tagged 14 kills, while Devendorf and Jeremy Siden (Natick, Mass.) added 12 kills apiece. Siden collected a team-high 14 digs, while Andrew Slocum (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) and Jeremy Schlosser (Emmaus, Pa.) dug 13 balls each in the loss.

Schlosser dished out 20 assists, while Carter Roche (Clifton Park, N.Y.) added 15 helpers.

All-Tournament Team
Tournament MVP: Stephen Cameron, Elms
Daniel Lebron, Elms
Yonalvy Acosta, Elms
Jeremy Siden, Endicott
Thomas Stoeckinger, Endicott
Corey Mills, Southern Vermont
Eric Smith, Daniel Webster