Troy, NY – Tapped as the No. 1 seed in the 2013 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III North Men's Volleyball Championship, the Sage Colleges posted a 3-1 win over No. 3 seeded Wentworth Institute of. Technology in the Championship. Sage's senior Spencer Hilland (Slingerlands, NY/Bethlehem Central) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament after leading Sage to the program's first ECAC Championship after a 30-7 season. Wentworth finishes the season as the North Runners-up after a 20-11 campaign.

SEMIFINAL # 1 The Sage Colleges def. Daniel Webster 27-25, 25-14, 22-25,25-19

Sage advanced to the finals with a 3-1 win over No. 4 seeded Daniel Webster College as junior outside Dylan Krowicki (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) added a double-double on 15 kills and 10 digs, while adding a pair of aces. Sophomore outside Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, NY/ Cairo-Durham) had 17 kills with seven aces to pace Sage which had a .250 hitting percentage in the match.  Junior middle hitter Connor Thompson (Delmar, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) also had 11 kills with four block assists, while Spencer Hilland (Slingerlands, NY/Bethlehem Central) had 11 digs with eight kills and three total blocks. Setter Kyle Ray (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) chipped in with 49 setting assists and seven digs.

Daniel Webster was led by sophomore middle Joel Hendrix (Kane'ohe, HI/James B. Castle) as he had 16 kills with a .244 attack percentage. He five digs with four block assists for the Eagles. Rookie Jose Vargas (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) netted six kills, with two digs, and six total blocks in the action.  Junior outside hitter Joe Walz (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow) added nine kills with three aces, three digs and three total blocks.

For Daniel Webster, the season concluded with a 15-13 mark and included the team's second straight ECAC appearance after earning a spot last season. Over the past two years in particular, DWC has posted an overall mark of 29-21.

SEMIFINAL # 2   WIT def. Elmira 25-23, 25-21,25-20

No. 3 seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology posted a 3-0 win over No. 2 seeded Elmira College in the other semifinal to advance to the finals. The Leopards stunned the second seeded Soaring Eagles with their victory. Elmira's season wraps with a 19-16 mark.

Pacing the Leopards in the action was junior outside hitter Ross Burdett (Needham, MA/Needham) as he had 11 kills with a .476 attack percentage and a pair of aces to go with his seven digs.  Senior setter Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional) added 27 setting assists with a pair of aces and two digs as WIT had a .299 attack percentage and held Elmira to a .105 attack percentage in the contest.

Rookie libero Zach Newhouse (Lancaster, CA/Lancaster) had 13 digs with just one reception error in 18 attempts (.947 reception percentage). Junior middle Brian Mann (East Freetown, MA/Apponequet) added nine kills with three digs and five block assists for the Leopards.

Elmira's freshman outside hitter Mike Ellison (Victor, NY/Victor) had 11 kills with two digs in the contest.

Freshman outside hitter Erik Griffin (Victory, NY/Victor) chipped in with nine kills and six digs.
Sophomore Tyler Smith (North Syracuse, NY/Pace Bootlegger) and sophomore Rob Shade (West Irondequoit, NY/West Irondequoit) each added seven digs, while junior setter Michael Vellutato (Topanga, CA/Redondo Union) added 21 setting assists with two aces and four digs.

FINALS   The Sage Colleges def. WIT 25-15,25-21,19-25,25-19

In the finals, Sage jumped out to a 2-0 lead taking set one, 25-15 and set two, 25-21. The Leopards took the third set, 25-19. In the final set, Sage held a 6-0 lead before WIT got on the scoreboard.

Hilland led all players with his 15 kills in the finals and chipped in with 11 digs and was a perfect 15-0 on receptions. He added a pair of setting assists and finished the day with 23 kills, a .298 attack percentage, 22 digs and a perfect 28-0 on receptions in eight sets played.

Sage's Fishman and Krowicki each added 12 kills for the Gators, while Fishman had a double-double with his 11 digs. He added four aces to elevate his Sage single-season mark to include 96, which also leads NCAA Division III with his 0.83 per set average.

Krowicki added an ace with four digs and caps his junior season with 374 kills with and 262 digs and now has 692 career kills, which is second all-time at Sage. Hilland wraps his Sage career with a school record for most kills (865), most solo blocks (68), and most career points (1,08.5).

Thompson chipped in with six kills, while adding two solo blocks and nine block assists. On the season, Thompson led the Gators with 116 total blocks and has become the program's all-time block leader with his 255 total blocks and 202 block assists.

Ray, the team's first four-time letterwinner and a four-time team captain netted 42 setting assists in the finals with five digs. He wraps his career with a number of program high-water marks including 1,304 setting assists in s season, 2,910 career setting assists, 98 career service aces and 397 sets played in 115 career matches played.

WIT's was led in the finals by junior Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, CT/Shelton) as he had 13 kills with nine digs, an aces and just one reception error in his 20 attempts. Sophomore Sean Donahue (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) added nine kills, three digs and five total blocks. Moriarty added 34 setting assists with four digs as the Leopards were held to a 0.65 attack percentage in the finals.

For Sage, the 2013 ECAC Tournament is the first for the team, which is just four years young and the first for interim head coach Sandy Augstein-Collins.