LMU Athletics
Luke Bolanos, Director of Athletic Communications
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Since 2018 no other NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball program can lay claim to an Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament title, that distinction belongs solely to the Lincoln Memorial University men’s volleyball team who captured its third consecutive IVA Tournament championship Saturday afternoon with a straight-set victory over host Queens University of Charlotte. The Railsplitters cap their 2021 campaign with a 12-8 record and a seven-match win streak, securing their fourth-straight 3-0 win in the IVA Tournament.
Having now won six IVA Tournament matches in a row, top-seeded LMU was nearly perfect in its tournament title defense after earning the IVA crown in both 2018 and 2019. Attacking at an impressive .354 clip, the Railsplitters racked up 47 kills across the three sets for the second-most in a three-set outing in program history. Gutting out 25-23 set triumphs in the first and third stanzas, LMU took set two by a convincing 25-19 score.
“Tonight was a great team effort and result,” head coach John Cash said following the championship. “This tournament was won on the practice court in preparation. The execution was solid. Credit to Queens as they have one of the stingiest defenses we faced. With that said, I have always said great offense and timely defense will always come out on top and that was the case today.”
“I am proud of our Senior leadership today. AJ (Risavy), Pedro (Carvalho), Matt (Bridenbaugh), and Logan (Kerley) have been glue all year and showed that once again. They, along with Randy (Rivera) and Nico (Triana), have built upon the legacy of LMU men’s volleyball. I am very proud of everything they have accomplished!”
In an offensive affair that saw 86 kills between the two teams, the Railsplitters’ nine total team blocks and LMU’s ability to limit its attack errors to 13 proved to be the difference. Despite being held to a .133 attack percentage in the third set, the second-seeded Royals (14-12) swung at a .244 clip and tallied 39 kills with 17 attack errors.
Notching a season and match-high 16 kills on a .500 attack, not to mention making six digs, sophomore outside hitter Johansen Negron was named 2021 IVA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. His performance highlighted four IVA All-Tournament Team selections for the Railsplitters with senior middle hitter Pedro Carvalho, junior setter AJ Risavy and freshman outside hitter Justin Sharfenaker joining Negron for post-championship awards.
Both squads came out of the gate on fire as each attacked at over .340 in the opening set with Queens hitting .379 and laying down 14 kills and LMU .343 with 18 kills. The first set featured 13 ties and four lead changes as a trio of kills from Negron, Sharfenaker and sophomore middle/right side hitter Dawson Walker put the Railsplitters up 8-6. After maintaining a lead at 16-15, LMU would have to play catchup. Back-to-back Negron kills knotted the score at 21 before back-to-back Walker kills gave the Railsplitters a one-point advantage at 23-22. Tied once again at 23, a pair of kills from sophomore outside hitter Jacob Titus finished off the set.
Topping its first-set onslaught, LMU recorded a dominant .444 attack percentage in set two with only two attack errors. Never trailing in the set, the Railsplitters raced out to a 5-2 lead before the Royals evened things up. A Walker kill gave LMU a four-point lead at 15-11 and the Railsplitters would steadily build upon their advantage. After a Queens service error LMU led 21-16, before responding to consecutive Royal points with a 4-1 run to close out the set. Negron rose up for a kill and then served an ace to give the Railsplitters a 2-0 lead in the match.
Topping its first-set onslaught, LMU recorded a dominant .444 attack percentage in set two with only two attack errors. Never trailing in the set, the Railsplitters raced out to a 5-2 lead before the Royals evened things up. A Walker kill gave LMU a four-point lead at 15-11 and the Railsplitters would steadily build upon their advantage. After a Queens service error LMU led 21-16, before responding to consecutive Royal points with a 4-1 run to close out the set. Negron rose up for a kill and then served an ace to give the Railsplitters a 2-0 lead in the match.
Another nail-biter in the third set was the result of more pedestrian numbers from both teams. LMU attacked at .294 but continued its excess kills with 15, while Queens got 12 kills. Once again taking a 5-2 lead early, the Railsplitters pulled ahead 14-10 following a four-point run led by Sharfenaker kills and solo blocks from Carvalho. However, LMU’s lead would quickly diminish as the Royals tied up the score five times before kills by Titus and Negron put the Railsplitters in front 23-21. A Sharfenaker kill gave LMU a pair of match points at 24-22 and Negron clinched the championship with his 16th kill of the night.
Sharfenaker finished with 10 kills, four blocks and five digs, while Carvalho secured six kills off a team-best .625 attack and posted a match-high six blocks. Walker claimed eight kills and Titus seven as Risavy assisted on 40 of the Railsplitters’ 47 kills and tied his season high with a match-high eight digs. Freshman libero Attia Soliman contributed seven digs for the second-straight match.
Queens was led by Tristan Santoyo’s 13 kills and six digs and Nic Cavallaro registered eight kills and seven digs for the Royals. Brandon Grabow of Queens racked up 34 assists and the Royals got a trio of blocks from Stirling Sims.
Negron averaged 3.83 kills and 2.5 digs per set over the weekend en route to MOP honors, attacking at .500 with 23 kills and 15 digs in the two IVA Tournament matches. Carvalho attacked at a remarkable .524 clip in the championship event and averaged 1.7 blocks per set, while Risavy compiled 75 assists (12.5/set) and averaged 2.3 digs per set in the two wins. Sharfenaker also averaged 3.83 kills per set across the IVA Tournament, to go along with 1.7 digs and 1.0 blocks per set.
2021 IVA All-Tournament Team
(MOP) Johansen Negron, LMU
Pedro Carvalho, LMU
AJ Risavy, LMU
Justin Sharfenaker, LMU
Joshua Bragg, Queens
Stirling Sims, Queens
Tristan Santoyo, Queens
Christos, Gkitersos, Limestone
Caleb Slater, Tusculum