RPI’s volleyball club teams ended their season on a high note, each taking a Regional Championship trophy home. The tournament was held in Cortland, where the women played on April 20 and the men played on April 21.
With five players returning and one new player this year, the women were able to compete at a higher level than last year, moving from B to BB. Pool play started with a match against one of the best teams in the region, Ithaca VBC. The games were close and RPI played hard, but the team started off the day with two losses. This defeat did not discourage the women, though. In the second match RPI came back strong and won two games against Dig This. The third match against the Adirondack VBC was a bit more challenging for the team. The games were split with one win and one loss for RPI. At the end of pool play, the RPI women were ranked eighth out of 16 teams, giving them the second seed in BB Silver. In the Silver semifinal match, RPI defeated the third seed, Net Gain, in two games, advancing them to the finals to face the No. 1 seed, Adirondack VBC. Continuing to play aggressively, the women’s team defeated their opponents in two games and took the championship. Their record for the day was 10-2, as the first-place team in BB Silver.
The RPI men’s team started the day with tough matches against two more experienced teams: Schenectady Y-B and KAOS. The inexperience of the team showed as RPI was seeded in last place entering the B-Silver playoffs. The first playoff match was against Bad Influence to determine which of the lower seeds would move on. RPI came out strong, playing with an intensity which had been missing earlier in the day. After winning the match decisively, RPI played their next match against the top-seeded Leprechaun Pub. After dropping the first game, RPI recovered their intensity and cruised through the second to force a deciding game. RPI’s enthusiasm for knocking out the first seed showed as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held on to win the match.
In the finals, RPI was again matched up against the Schenectady Y-B team. Expecting to see the flat team from the morning, Schenectady was surprised to be swept in a pair of well-played games.
The RPI volleyball club teams play through USA Volleyball in the Iroquois-Empire region, which consists of all of eastern New York State north of New York City. The RPI women’s team members this year were Christie Binder, co-captain Roxanne Muniz, co-captain Katie Toohey, Jeanell Trotter, Taryn Winkle, and Kate Worden. The men’s team members were co-captain Chris Aiello, Mario Angelides, Kevin Bowers, Christopher Foley, co-captain Jeremiah Harmsen, Daniel Heiman, Manit Limlamai, Jared Numbers, and Brian Pond.
