20-10 overall, 7-2 NECVA Metro
The Ramapo College men’s volleyball team finished the 2010 season with a 20-10 overall record while finishing 7-2 in the NECVA Metro. This is the tenth straight year the team has had a 20 win season.
The Roadrunners opened up the 2009 season with 3-0 wins over Hunter and Newbury on January, 17th before falling to Rivier, 0-3, Sacred Heart, 1-3 and Philadelphia Biblical in a tough 2-3 loss. Ramapo bounced back with three straight conference wins; they defeated New Jersey City, 3-0, Mount Saint Vincent, 3-1 and Yeshiva, 3-1, which started an eight match win streak.
Ramapo defeated the City College of NY, 3-0 before defeating Lancaster Bible, 3-0 in a tri-match. Against Lehman and Bard they came away with 3-0 wins before heading to the Endicott Tournament on February 20th-21st. The Roadrunners won their opening match, 3-0 against SUNYIT before falling to MIT, 0-3. They won their final two matches with wins over New Paltz, 3-1 and Emmanuel, 3-0. Ramapo fell in their next two matches, 1-3 against Sacred Heart and 1-3 at Metro rival Vassar. They defeated Sage, 3-0, New Paltz 3-1 and Polytechnic, 3-0 before falling to Metro rival Stevens on the road, 2-3. The Roadrunners defeated Stevenson and NECVA rival Baruch, 3-0 before falling on the road to Philadelphia Biblical, 1-3. They bounced back with wins over New Jersey City and New Haven, both 3-0 before falling 2-3 to Division I Princeton before heading to the NECVA Championships.
The Roadrunners were ranked 7th overall and would go up against NECVA Metro rival #10 Stevens in their opening game. Ramapo came away with a 3-0 win and advanced to take on #15 Nazareth. The Roadrunners fell 1-3 to the eventual NECVA Champions.
The Roadrunners saw much individual success this season. Senior Kurt Backlund is ranked 6th nationally in digs per game and led the Roadrunners with 320 digs, 3.48 per game this season. Senior Matt Scott leading his team with 1,272 assists, 13.11 per game. He recently recorded his 2,000th career assist in a 3-0 sweep over Division II New Haven. Scott led the team in blocks with 83 while chipping in 193 digs, second on the team. Sophomore Paul Konopacki, a middle hitter, hit .401 on the year, recording 224 kills, while rookie Steve Vahalla posted 244 kills, 2.84 per game, and 29 total blocks in his freshman campaign. Konopacki was second on the team in blocks with 82. Rookie Kevin Froehlich led the team in kills with 258 while blocking 48 and leading the team with 27 service aces. Senior Elvis Cabrera was fourth on the team with 212 kills while he was tied for second on the team with 82 total blocks.
Post Season Awards
Kurt Backlund – AVCA Division III All-American Second Team, NECVA Metro All-Conference First Team, NECVA All-Conference First Team
Matt Scott– NECVA Metro All-Conference, NECVA All-Conference Second Team
Paul Konopacki – NECVA Metro All-Conference First Team
Steve Vahalla – NECVA Metro All-Conference Second Team