Nichols Claims Top Seed in 2025 NEVC Championship

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After completing regular season conference play undefeated with a record of 6-0, two-time defending New England Volleyball Conference (NEVC) Champions, Nichols College, has secured the top seed in the NEVC Championship.

Nichols’ Chandler Olson leads the league with 8.72 assists per set, while Jack Normandin has tallied 272 kills, which is good for fourth in the league. Defensively, Dylan Knapp is second in the league with 0.75 blocks per set. With the top seed, the Bison have earned a first-round bye, and the right to host the semifinal and championship rounds. They will await the winner of No. 4 SUNY Poly (3-3) and No. 5 Bard College (2-4).

No. 4 SUNY Poly will host the first-round match-up with Bard on Wednesday, April 9. Their offense is led by Peter Gottler, who is second in the league with 0.76 blocks per set. Bard rookie Ansel Waisler leads the league with 3.82 kills per set and 355 total kills and is second in digs with 195. Teammate Sidney Stein is ranked third in the NEVC with 3.39 kills per set.

SUNY Potsdam locked up the No. 2 seed, finishing with a record of 5-1 in conference play. The Lions are led by Matt Kilinski’s 3.33 kills per set and a league-leading .357 hitting percentage. Alex Lombardo is in the top five of the NEVC in assists per set with 8.55 per set. The Bears have earned a first-round bye and will play the winner of No. 3 Endicott College and No. 6 Russell Sage College.

Endicott will host Sage on Wednesday, April 9. The Gulls are led by Aidan Iacovelli’s 3.50 kills per set, which is good for second in the league. Defensively, Thomas Matchett leads the league with 0.99 blocks per set. Sage is led by Dylan Fox, who has compiled 316 kills, second most in the NEVC. Setter Anthony Guetti is fifth in the league with 7.26 assists per set.

The winners of the two semifinal matchups on Saturday, April 12 will meet for the NEVC title match on Sunday, April 13 at Nichols.

Seeds 

1. Nichols (6-0) 

2. SUNY Potsdam (5-1)

3. Endicott (4-2) 

4. SUNY Poly (3-3) 

5. Bard (2-4) 

6. Sage (1-5) 

First Round- Wednesday, April 9  

Match 1- No. 5 Bard at No. 4 SUNY Poly – 7:30 PM

Match 2- No. 6 Sage at No. 3 Endicott – 7:00 PM 

Semifinals- Saturday, April 12 (at No. 1 Nichols)  

Match 3- Winner Match 1 vs. No. 1 Nichols – 4:00 PM

Match 4- Winner Match 2 vs. No. 2 SUNY Potsdam – 7:00 PM

Championship- Sunday, April 13 (at No. 1 Nichols) 

 Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 – 1:00 PM

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 seven institutions, Bard College, Endicott College, Nichols College, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, SUNY Potsdam, Russell Sage College and Vermont State University – Johnson.