Blauvelt, N.Y. - The top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Volleyball team claimed the first-ever East Coast Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon, surviving a five-set thriller to take a 3-2 decision over Dominican University, in front of a raucous crowd at the Hennessy Center on the Chargers' campus.

STAC closes out its 2024 campaign with an 11-12 overall record and a 5-1 ECC mark, while Dominican wraps up its season at 12-13 and 3-3.

Spartans freshman outside hitter Kyran Versteegen was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after totaling a tournament-high 49 kills, with a match-high 24 in STAC's 3-1 semifinal win over fourth-seeded American International and a match-high 25 against the Chargers. 

Set Results 

Set 1: STAC 25/DUNY 18

Set 2: STAC 25/DUNY 23

Set 3: DUNY 28/STAC 26

Set 4: DUNY 34/STAC 32

Set 5: STAC 15/DUNY 8

How it Happened

St. Thomas Aquinas came out strong in the first set, pulling away in 13-13 tie by using a 5-0 run, to take a 1-0 lead after a 25-18 victory.

An evenly matched second set saw the largest lead for either team reach four points. The maroon and gold came out on top 25-23 to take a 2-0 advantage.

Dominican began the third set red-hot, scoring the first 10 points. STAC answered and went on a 19-8 run to take a one point lead. Both teams went back and forth down the stretch and the Chargers got the 28-26 victory to extend the match to a fourth set.

The fourth set saw the Chargers hold a late four point lead, but the Spartans came roaring back, using an 8-3 run to take a 21-20 lead. Both teams traded points until Dominican scored the final three to take the frame 34-32, squaring the match at two wins apiece.

A fifth and deciding set would be needed to settle the inaugural ECC Championship bout, and it featured the Spartans opening the scoring at 5-2. The Chargers fought back to tie things, but STAC ultimately went on a 10-3 run to secure its first tournament title in the program's first season.

Spartans Stats

• As a team, STAC recorded 64 kills compared to Dominican's 55. The Spartans also had a 11 blocks and 61 assists, while the Chargers tallied 13 blocks and 52 assists.
• St. Thomas Aquinas outhit Dominican by a .295 to .166 margin for the match.
• Kyran Versteegen paced the Spartans offense with a match-high 25 kills on Sunday. He also registered three service aces, nine digs and a solo block.
• Joaquin La Jara tallied 54 serve assists (10.8 assists/set). La Jara also accumulated one kill, eight digs, two solo blocks and four block assists for the maroon and gold.
• Gabriel Vieira recorded 15 kills, along with a service ace, nine digs and a block assist.
• Andre Cippiciani tallied nine kills, three service aces, four digs, a solo block and a block assist on the day.
• David Weiss picked up nine kills, two digs, one solo block and four block assists in the finals match.
• Nicholas Santos accumulated two kills, one service ace and five digs.