Back-to-Back Champs!

Susquehanna Men's Volleyball Club Repeated as MACVC Champs,
Finished Regular Season at 10-1, Made Nationals for Third Time

SELINSGROVE, (Pa.) - The Susquehanna University's Men's Volleyball Club team repeated as champion at the recent Middle Atlantic Club Volleyball Conference (MACVC) Championship Tournament at Millersville University.

After going 3-0 in pool play with wins over Villanova, Messiah and Dickinson, Susquehanna downed West Chester (15-7, 17-15) in the quarterfinals and then beat old nemesis Lehigh (9-15, 15-13, 15-10) in the semifinals. Nationally-ranked Lehigh had previously handed Susquehanna its only loss in the regular-season and also won a match against the Crusaders at the Messiah Tournament.

Susquehanna beat Villanova for the second time in the tournament - this time in the championship match by scores 15-12, 15-7 to secure its second-straight title.

Despite graduating four of the six starters from a team which placed fifth nationally in 1998, seventh-year head coach Bill Switala guided the Susquehanna club team to a 10-1 regular-season record and its third trip to nationals - finishing 37th out of 64 teams in the event at the University of Maryland - in addition to the repeat conference title. Susquehanna was seeded 11th going into the national championship event.

Sophomore co-captain and setter Scott Trumbauer (Breiningsville/Parkland H.S.) was named conference Most Valuable Player and led the team in the title match vs. Villanova. Trumbauer used his jump serve for eight aces - a unprecedented number against a Villanova team which had been one of the best teams at returning serve in the country. His heroics allowed Susquehanna to beat Villanova for the third time this season - giving Susquehanna three of Villanova's five losses this season.

"Scott (Trumbauer) played better than I've seen any individual play in the last three matches. His eight aces vs. one of the best receiving teams in the country was simply amazing," said Switala, who is also head coach of the varsity women's volleyball program at Susquehanna. "He was in the mythical 'zone,' especially against West Chester. He literally won that match by himself. We set him up and he terminated every single ball that he had."

In addition to Trumbauer, Switala's team got outstanding play from senior co-captain at setter Ian Botts (Susquehanna/Susquehanna Community H.S.) and junior middle hitter Ryan Szuch (Apollo/Kiski Area H.S.).

"Ian definitely picked up his play as the finals went on and Ryan really turned on the juice against Lehigh. We had already lost the first game and were down in the second when he (Szuch) made three consecutive difficult digs to really get us going," said Switala.

Other starters on the team included freshman middle hitter Jim Mistler (New Freedom/ Susquehannock H.S.); freshman A.J. Fick (Moscow/North Pocono H.S.) and junior Chris Killinger (Lawton/Elk Lake H.S.) at outside hitter; and junior Glenn Lester (Johnstown/ Conemaugh H.S.) and senior Toby Gearhart (Selinsgrove/Selinsgrove Area H.S.) as the defensive specialists. The starting six depended on whether the team opens the match by serving or receiving -- with Misler playing the front row and Lester the back, and Killinger and Botts alternating in the lineup between front and back respectively. Gearhart was a senior who didn't play before this season and Switala called him "the cornerstone of our defense."

Senior outside hitters Glenn Hunsinger (Lawton/Elk Lake H.S.) and Scott Stackhouse (Easton/Wilson Area H.S.) round out the roster. Switala also believes the work by senior student assistant coach Randy Arnold (Selinsgrove/Selinsgrove Area H.S.) "to also be invaluable to the team."

"Winning the championship back-to-back years with the kind of conference that we have is amazing," said Switala. "For our guys, who had very little big-game experience, to step it up and win as convincingly as they did was amazing. I'm proud of their effort and the work they put in. They really deserved to win the championship because they worked that hard." Additional information about the Susquehanna Men's Volleyball Club Team may be obtained by contacting Switala at (570) 372-4080 (office) or (570) 374-4688 (home).

 1998-99 Susquehanna Men's Volleyball Club Roster

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