NECC Release
 
BEVERLY, Mass. – Nichols men's volleyball came away victorious with its first New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship title in program history with a 3-1 win over conference rivals and tournament host Endicott on Saturday afternoon at MacDonald Gymnasium. Today's victory marks the first win over Endicott in the five-year history of the Nichols men's volleyball program.
 
After inheriting a program that had a single victory in the 2020 season, it took just two seasons for head coach Casey Fitzpatrick and assistant Tyler Schnaible to lead the program to a rapid turnaround, earning their first conference title in a year where several records were shattered.
 
The NECC's number one offense was firing on all cylinders in the matchup, swinging at a potent .349 hitting percentage en route to snapping Endicott's three-season reign as NECC champions. Nichols notched 55 kills in four sets, good for 13.75 kills/set, as the Bison hit .349 in the match.
 
Carlos Mercado, Dylan Urbanski, and Tanner Soracco each made the NECC All-Tournament Team, with Mercado earning the highest honors as Tournament MVP.
 
Nichols recorded 14 kills and hit at a .579 clip to take set one over the Gulls, 25-15. Soracco hit .1000 and Mercado hit .600 with 4 kills apiece.
 
In a highly contested second set with seven ties and two lead changes, the Gulls were able to prevail in the closing points to take a 25-23 decision and even the match up at 1-1. The duo of Luis Martinez (5) and Carlos Mercado (4) teamed up to record nine of the 14 second set kills for the Bison.
 
In the third, a three-point swing for the Gulls tied up the match at 16-16. After a Gulls service error, Nichols brought in Nick Martin to serve and used an Endicott attack error and a kill on a setter's dump from Dylan Urbanski to pull ahead 19-16 and force Endicott into a timeout. Although the Gulls would cut their deficit to one point on numerous occasions, a pair of kills from Soracco and Jake Harasyko would seal the third, 25-22.
 
The Bison jumped out to a 13-5 lead in the third, and after two quick Endicott points, Nichols head coach Casey Fitzpatrick called a timeout to reset the squad. Nichols would then bump its advantage to 10 points at 19-9 on a Martin service ace. On a Matthew Zawistowski serve at match point, the Bison duo of Soracco and Harasyko combined for a block to clinch the match and give the Bison its first conference trophy.
 
Urbanski once again led the team as the offensive playmaker, dishing out 42 of the team's 50 assists in the victory. Mercado followed that up with six assists while notching a match-best 15 kills at a .335 clip. Soracco recorded five block assists, including the game-winner, in a match where he swung at a .688 percentage to nail down 12 kills. Martinez had 11 kills with a team-best two service aces in the victory. Captain Nicholas Basco, who saw this program soar to new heights through four of its five total seasons, recorded seven digs.
 
Nichols finishes the season with a program-best 22 victories.
 
NECC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP – Carlos Mercado, Nichols
Dylan Urbanski, Nichols
Tanner Soracco, Nichols
Nikolas Kasprzak, Endicott
Gabe DeBenedetto, Endicott
Alejandro Garcia Fernandez, Eastern Nazarene
Joe Zimmerman, SUNY Potsdam