The Dominican University men's volleyball team, in their inaugural season as a NCAA Division III season, is off the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) Tournament in Greenville, Pa., where the Stars will take on Juniata College in the opening round on Saturday, April 12.  Dominican won its final three matches of the regular season sweeping through MSOE, the College of Mount St. Joseph and Fontbonne University, moving to 13-13 on the year and 5-5 in the CVC West Division and claiming the third and final spot in the conference tournament out of the West Division.
 
With 16 freshmen on the roster, Dominican's season has been nothing short of remarkable.  The Stars rank third in the CVC and ninth nationally in blocks per set (2.47) led by 6'4 Aidan Spangler (Western Springs, Ill.) who is currently sixth nationally at 1.16 blocks per set.  In the back row, libero Brooks Nevrly (Downers Grove, Ill.) leads the CVC in digs per set at 2.75, ranking him 18^th nationally.
 
Offensively, the Stars run everything through setter Alex Coyne (Naperville, Ill.) who averages 9.48 assists per set and ranks fourth in the CVC and 12^th nationally in assists.  Coyne's weapons include Zachery Sinn (Winfield, Ill.), Jeremy Royko (Naperville, Ill.) and Charlie Spry (Barrington, Ill.) all of whom average better than two kills per set, led by Sinn's 3.18 kills per set.
 
In Juniata, the Stars battle the number three team in this week's AVCA Division III Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll.  Dominican has battled ten top 15 opponents in 26 matches this season, scoring a 3-1 win over Thiel College at the CVC Crossover in Cincinnati back on February 9.  Since then, the Stars have taken Lakeland, then ranked 11^th, to five sets and have played the nation's top team in SUNY New Paltz and the nation's fourth-ranked team in Carthage College.
 
Saturday's match is slated for a 12:30 PM EST start with the winner advancing to take on Carthage in the semifinals later Saturday evening.  The CVC's championship match is scheduled for Sunday with the tournament champion claiming the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball national tournament.