By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer '24 

ALLIANCE, Ohio - The Baldwin Wallace University men's volleyball team won the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League tournament for the first time in program history after taking down the University of Mount Union in a four-set thriller inside the McPherson Athletic and Academic Complex. The second-seeded Yellow Jackets defeated the top-seeded, defending champion Purple Raiders by scores of 25-23, 16-25, 27-25, and 30-28. 

With the win, BW (26-7) punched its ticket to the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the first time in the young program's three-year history. This season was BW's first appearance in the MCVL tournament after finishing no higher than sixth place in the nine-team conference in 2021 and 2022. The Yellow Jackets carry a 26-7 record, MCVL regular season tri-championship, and MCVL tournament championship to notch a berth into the NCAA tournament, representing a dramatic improvement from the team's 8-18 season in 2022.

Junior All-MCVL setter Brandon Long (Hinckley/Metea Valley, Ill.) was named the tournament's most valuable player after totaling 97 assists and 15 digs during the semifinals and finals. With his 24th assist in the match, Long notched 1,000 assists in a single season. He now totals 1,027 after today's performance and 2,300 in his career. All-MCVL outside hitter Michael Beard (Hilliard/Darby) and sophomore All-MCVL right-side hitter Michael Devlin (Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley) were also named to the all-tournament team. 

In the title match, BW was led by Long's 51-assist performance, which tied his season-high and was just one assist away from his career-high single-game mark. Beard recorded his second double-double of the season, tallying 17 kills and a game-high 14 digs, while Devlin backed up his 18-kill performance in the semifinals with 19 kills in the final. Freshman libero Aiden Kim (Bothell, Wash./North Creek) tallied ten digs, with eight of his ten digs coming in the first set.

Mount Union (21-6) was led by junior right-side hitter Jack McClure, as he recorded a team-high 14 kills and 12 digs. Senior outside hitter and MCVL offensive player of the year Cameron Ternet added 13 kills but was limited to a .125 hitting percentage. 

FIRST SET

• Mount Union jumped out to a 12-9 lead, forcing an early BW timeout.
• Following the timeout, Long embarked on an eight-point serving run as the Yellow Jackets took a 16-12 lead.
• BW held leads of 22-18 and 23-20, but the Purple Raiders fought back and brought the set to within 24-23.
• At 24-23, Beard delivered a kill out of the back row to give the Yellow Jackets the first set.
• Freshman Aiden Kim (Bothell, Wash./North Creek) tallied eight digs in the set.

SECOND SET

• Mount Union opened the second set with a 5-1 run and took an early six-point lead.
• Back to back kills by Beard cut the Mount Union lead to 12-9.
• The Purple Raiders pulled away from there, closing the set on a 13-7 spurt and evening the match at a set apiece. 

THIRD SET

• After neither team led by more than three points during the first half of the set, a 5-1 run gave the Purple Raiders a late 20-15 lead.
• BW battled back with a 6-1 run, capped by an ace by Long to tie the set at 21.
• The Yellow Jackets capitalized on late Mount Union errors and fought off two set points before earning their first set point at 26-25.
• Beard delivered his seventh kill of the third set to give the Yellow Jackets a massive 27-25 victory in set three.

FOURTH SET

• Consecutive kills by Devlin and freshman middle hitter Colby Whiteside (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) gave the Yellow Jackets an early 13-8 advantage, forcing a Purple Raiders timeout.
• With BW up 18-13, a block by Long and freshman middle hitter Josh Steinitz (Towson, Md./Friends School of Baltimore) put the Yellow Jackets up by six points.
• Mount Union fought back, capitalizing on BW errors to tie the set at 22.
• Devlin tooled the block for a kill to break a 28-28 deadlock, setting up BW's fourth match point.
• At 29-28, Beard's serve forced a Mount Union overpass, which Whiteside put away to seal the team's first MCVL tournament title in program history. 

The 2023 NCAA Division III tournament selection show will air live at NCAA.com on Monday, April 17 at 10:00 a.m. The tournament begins next week, with the field of 16 divided across four regional pods of four teams, before culminating with the national semifinals and finals in Owings Mills, Md. on April 28 on 30.