Nichols Wins Third-Straight NEVC Championship
DUDLEY, Mass. - The Nichols College Men's Volleyball team captured its third straight New England Volleyball Conference (NEVC) Championship behind a 3-1 (25-12, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20) victory over the No. 3 seeded Endicott College Gulls inside the Nichols Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon.
As the conference champion, the Bison receive the automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament, and improve to 19-14 (6-0 NEVC). Endicott closes out their respective campaign with a 14-12 (4-2 NEVC) overall record.
Graduate student outside hitter Jack Normandin led the Bison with 17 kills on a .278 hitting percentage, while also adding seven digs, five service aces and and three blocks. Meanwhile, senior middle blocker Dylan Knapp chipped in 12 kills of his own on a team-best .409 clip, while dominating at the net with seven blocks. Sophomore libero Cade Bernardi logged nine digs in the win, while Chandler Olson handed out 27 assists. As a team, the Bison out-hit the gulls .248 to .076, while also setting a new program record for single-match blocks with 19 in total.
Behind his combined 23 kills, 12 digs and seven aces in the two matches this weekend, Normandin was also named the 2025 NEVC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Nichols came out firing in the first set, opening the match with a dominant 12-4 lead. From there, points continued to come in bunches for the Bison, as a late 8-3 run furthered their lead to set-point at 24-10, powered by three Normandin kills and multiple Endicott errors. The Gulls snagged two more points before the end of the set, but failed to move any closer as a service error landed Nichols the winning point, 25-12.
The Bison were the first on the board in the second frame, but Endicott returned to the floor ready for a battle as the two teams found themselves tied up at 8-8. However, kills from Normandin and senior Conor McCabe helped give the Bison a four-point cushion at 14-10, a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the set. Down the stretch, Nichols led by as many as seven points, eventually guiding them to a closer 25-21 victory, and a 2-0 match lead.
Determined to avoid the sweep, Endicott used an early 4-0 run to stay one step ahead of the Bison in the third, outhitting the hosts by a .333 to .212 margin en route to a 25-22 win, forcing a decisive fourth set.
Nichols led set four wire to wire, beginning with a lopsided 10-1 lead. The Bison maintained a safe distance over the next several points, until Endicott blitzed the competition with a 9-0 run to move themselves to within one midway through the set, 14-13. From there, the Bison slowly pushed their lead back to five points at 21-16, capped off by an Evan Sachs service ace, providing them with enough insurance to seal the win, 25-20.
The Bison await their destination and opponent in the 2025 NCAA DIII Tournament, which they will hear about on the official selection show set for Monday, April 14th. The full show will be streamed live on NCAA.com at 10:00 AM.
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.