Men's Volleyball competes at NJCAA National Tournament

The Union College Men's Volleyball team in their inaugural season, played their way to the 2023 NCAA Men's Volleyball Invitational hosted by the College of DuPage in Glen Elyn, Illinois. Taking the first year to create the program, the Owls worked all season to find the right lineup and really started to come into their own. Day one at the Invitational, the team squared off with undefeated Monroe Mustangs, host College of DuPage, and Region XIX Champion Ocean. These three matches did not go in favor of the Owls but saw some of the strongest team and player performances of the season.

Day two the Owls were paired up against the third ranked Bryant and Stratton and could not hold onto a lead. The final match of the tournament paired the Owls up against Region rival Ocean. The Owls were not playing for fun and came out with passion and drive. The match went to four sets where the Owls dropped the Vikings on an error.

While the season and tournament outcome did not look stellar on paper, Coach Kevan Pidgeon-Hammock says he is incredibly proud of his team and each of his players. While mistakes were made, the team as a whole pulled together and kept improving with each practice and each game. He was impressed with way Union College embraced volleyball, filling the stands for home games and even some fans traveling to away games to support the team. That alone is a great sign for the seasons to follow. The growing pains were apparent for both coach and players but Kevan says his players never gave up and are already preparing for next year.