Volleyball Championship Ends for Royals

By AARON GRAY, Daily News-Record

During last year’s spring break, sophomore Nick Bernardo and his Eastern Mennonite University teammates took a five-day trip to California to get a glimpse of the West Coast style of volleyball.

"It’s a different game out there," Bernardo said. "They might not always have the size, but they play real scrappy and their speed makes up for it."

So when the Royals were matched up with second-seeded California-Santa Cruz in the consolation match of the Molten Division III Men’s Volleyball Championships at University Commons on Saturday, April 17, they had an idea of what they were up against.

A little knowledge, in this case, didn’t go a long way. The Banana Slugs beat EMU in four games (30-21, 30-25, 27-30, 30-27) to take third place in their first-ever appearance at the national championships. (EMU coverage of Saturday's matches)

UC-Santa Cruz, dubbed the "mystery team" by other tournament coaches, came out with a controlled attack.

"In the other semifinal match, they looked like another team," EMU coach Jason Axford said. "But they found their rhythm against us and controlled the ball the entire game."

Third-seeded Medaille College upset the Slugs in four games Friday, April 16. On Saturday, top-seeded Juniata, from Huntingdon, Pa., beat Medaille 30-16, 30-16, 30-27 for its first national title since 1998. (EMU coverage of Friday's matches)

In the consolation match, Santa Cruz rolled in the first two games, taking advantage of the Royals’ 15 service errors.

"We came out slow, but we came together in the third game," EMU freshman Brandon Ratliff said.

With the Royals down 2-0, Ratliff came off the bench in another attempt by Axford to shake up the lineup and show a different look to the opponent.

"I know he likes to start, but Brandon coming in late was really instrumental in the comeback," Axford said.

Ratliff had 10 kills in 15 attempts to pace the Royals in the last two games of the contest.

The Royals won the third game, 30-27, with three of EMU’s first four points coming from Bernardo aces. Trailing 5-2, UCSC coach Jay Hoscak called a timeout to change the defensive scheme.

"Bernardo – that kid was very impressive today," said Hoscak. "I don’t know how he slipped under the radar screen, but we definitely kept our eyes on No. 6 late in the game."

Bernardo finished with 11 kills, seven digs and five serving aces.

"I could definitely tell they were keying in on me; every time I came to the net, they were getting strong blocks up front," Bernardo said.

Sophomore Josh Kerr led the Royals with 12 kills, and middle-blocker Allan Ressor-McDowel added nine kills and three digs. Senior Nick Brockman’s 12 kills and seven digs highlighted the Slugs’ balanced attack.

The Royals finished the year with a 13-9 record; Santa Cruz finished 5-12 against NCAA competition.