GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Top-seeded Thiel College completed an undefeated season against conference competition with a decisive 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-17) victory over No. 2 Grove City College to win the first-ever Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Volleyball Tournament Championship Saturday night before a packed house at Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium.

With the victory, the Tomcats (22-6) also earned the PAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The field will be announced Monday morning at 10 am on NCAA.com.

The opening set was tightly contested until a late Thiel run gave the Tomcats a 1-0 lead. Both teams were swinging well early, as Thiel was hitting over .600 and the Wolverines were at .438 as the score was 16-15 in the Tomcats favor. It was still a one-point spread at 20-19 when the Tomcats ripped off a 5-1 run to close out the set. After kills by Jake Dies and Ezra Oesterling, Kaleb Proudfoot put away the final three points in the set for a 25-20 win. While Grove City hit an impressive .455 in the opening set, Thiel answered by hitting .643 with 19 kills, seven coming from Proudfoot.

The Tomcats' momentum continued into the second set, as three kills, a block and an ace pushed the home team to a quick 5-1 lead and forced a Grove City timeout. The Wolverines cut the deficit to 6-4, but a four-point run extended the Thiel lead to 10-4 and they would maintain at least a five-point advantage the rest of the set. Proudfoot delivered three kills in the set, all within the final five points, while Oesterling put away the final point to seal the 25-17 set win. In addition to hitting .235 in the second set, the Tomcats also served four aces.

Another early run put the Tomcats in control early in the third set. A kill by Bryce Lizanich sparked a 6-0 run, which also included a Lizanich ace and kills from Dies and Oesterling, for an 8-2 Tomcat lead. Grove City chipped away at the deficit with a 4-1 surge, highlighted by a pair of kills from Max Gianneski, narrowing the gap to 9-6. That was as close as the Wolverines would come, as the momentum stayed firmly with Thiel for the remainder of the match. Thiel extended their lead to 20-15 and closed out the championship run with five of the final six points. Oesterling had two kills in that run, while Lizanich assisted on one block and after an extended rally on match point, his solo block completed the 3-0 sweep.

In winning the first-ever PAC Men's Volleyball title, Thiel went 14-0 against conference teams this year, going 12-0 in the regular season before sweeping Saint Vincent and Grove City in the tournament.

The Tomcats hit a stellar .419 in the victory, with Oesterling hitting .632 while posting a team-high 16 kills. Proudfoot finished with 10 kills, while Dies, who was selected the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, hit .438 with eight kills and he chipped in four assisted blocks. Triggering the offense was setter Ben Lowell with 35 assists.

In addition to Dies, Oesterling and Proudfoot were also selected for the All-Tournament Team.

Grove City (14-15), who reached the PAC title game in their first season as a varsity program, was led by Gianneski with nine kills, while All-Tournament Team selection Quintin Norris had eight kills. Also earning All-Tournament Team recognition was Andrew Kessler, who registered three kills and three blocks, including two solos, on Saturday. 

2025 PAC Men's Volleyball Championship Tournament
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, April 8, 2025
No. 3 Hiram 3, No. 6 Chatham 1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 25-21) - Box Score
No. 5 Saint Vincent 3, No. 4 Geneva (25-20, 25-20, 25-20) - Box Score

Semifinals - Thursday, April 10, 2025
No. 1 Thiel 3, No. 5 Saint Vincent 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-18) - Box Score
No. 2 Grove City 3, No. 3 Hiram 1 (31-29, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22) - Box Score

Championship - Saturday, April 12, 2025
No. 1 Thiel 3, No. 2 Grove City 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-16) - Box Score