The University of Delaware men’s volleyball team defeated Cornell University 25-20, 25-18 in the D1AA National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) national championship match held Saturday, April 15, in Kansas City, Missouri.

The men’s D1AA division consisted of 48 teams.

This was the team’s first national championship in its 17-year history, and they did it in style, losing just one set during the entire tournament.

The team plays its regular season in the Eastern Collegiate Volleyball Association (ECVA) Division 1-Central. Next year they will move up to men's D1 for the NCVF national tournament, where they will be poised for another deep run with a majority of the starting line-up returning.

Last year the team finished in fifth place so they were anxious to prove they could win it all this year. “‘Play with a purpose.’ This was our team's motto before we started every game,” said sophomore Christian Garcia.“It helped us focus and play that much harder.”

“We lost nine seniors last year, (which was) most of our starting lineup. We had a lot of young guys step up and work hard to build our team,” said senior Kyle Rulka. “Everyone held each other accountable throughout the year, and it showed at nationals.”

Tyler Wojcik, senior team president, added “Being national champions feels amazing. It means everything to this team that worked so hard all season. Looking back at the year we had, every team member contributed in their own unique way. Every player on our roster believed we had what it took to win a national championship, and it showed in the intensity we played with.” 

Individual award recipients are as follows:

• MVP of the tournament: AJ Schaeffer, sophomore, outside hitter.

• First team All-American: Tyler Wojcik, senior, outside hitter; Christian Garcia, sophomore, setter; and David Gilroy, junior, middle.

• Second team All-American: Kyle Rulka, senior, opposite.

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