When and where:

April 17, 2025- Lexington, VA

Results:

The St. Joseph's University, New York (L.I.) men's volleyball team advances in the NCAA Div. III Regional Tournament with a 3-1 first-round win against Thiel College on Thursday evening.

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 23-8, Thiel, 22-7

Top Performers:

• Junior Luke MacPherson and graduate student Tyler Anderson both finished with a team-best 10 kills and .320 hitting percentage. MacPherson added seven digs an a pair of aces with Anderson pitching in with four blocks

• Senior Logan Meyer added seven kills and seven digs 

• Middles Hank Foglia and AJ Esposito knocked down six kills apiece and finished with four and five kills, respectively 

• Setter Will Kropp recorded 35 assists  

• Libero Chris Sarnicola picked up a team-best 11 digs

• Ezra Oesterline of Thiel recorded a match-high 18 kills and 12 digs

How it happened:

• The match opened with a closely played set one that saw 15 tied scores, five lead changes and neither side leading by more than three points. Tied at 20, SJLI's Anderson knocked down a kill and followed it up with and ace for a 22-20 advantage. Coming out of a Thiel timeout, Kropp and Esposito teamed up for a block giving the Golden Eagles their largest lead of the set, 23-20, and the duo did it again a few points later to secure the 25-23 win
   

• The Tomcats bounced back in set two leading wire-to-wire evening the match with a 25-17 win. Thiel hit .323 as a team while holding St. Joseph's to just .067

• Set three started out point for point and with the Golden Eagles holding a slight, 12-11 lead, an Esposito kill sparked a 6-0 run for a 17-11 advantage. The Tomcats responded with a run of their own inching to within two, 18-16. But St. Joseph's managed to keep Thiel at arms distance to claim the 25-20 win. MacPherson finished with a team-best four kills and two aces
   

• Set four started as a back-and-forth affair, seeing five tied scores and neither side able to build a lead larger than three until a kill from Meyer put the Golden Eagles ahead, 20-16. The Tomcats would get themselves to within two a few times down the stretch, but a kill from Anderson sealed the 25-21 win sending the Golden Eagles to the second round

Notes:

• As a team, St. Joseph's (L.I.) hit .193 while Thiel finished at .250

• The Golden Eagles finished with 40 digs and 11 total blocks with the Tomcats recording 48 digs and eight total blocks

Up next:

The Golden Eagles advance to the NCAA Div. III Regional Second Round and will face host #2 Southern Virginia University on Friday, April 18th at 4:00 pm.