2010 Molten Championship

2010 Molten Championship at Carthage College

Springfield College (19-10 and pictured left) won the 2010 Molten Division III Men's Invitational Volleyball Championship on April 17 with a 3-1 win over the University of California-Santa Cruz (15-7), 3-1, with winning set scores of 23-30, 32-30, 30-26 and 30-22. The 2010 event was played at Carthage College’s Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. The host-Red Men (21-12) won the consolation match, 3-0, over Nazareth College (19-16) with winning set scores of 30-25, 30-21 and 30-26. In the April 16 semifinals, UC-Santa Cruz swept Nazareth, 3-0, with winning set scores of 30-25, 30-27 and 30-25, while Springfield swept Carthage, 3-0, with winning scores of 30-22, 30-22 and 30-28.

While the NCAA sponsors a national championship for men’s volleyball, programs from all three divisions compete for just four berths in the yearly tournament. In the 33-year history of the men’s tournament, no NCAA Division III program has ever been selected to participate in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship. The Molten Championship was started in 1997 in order to create a culminating event for NCAA Division III men’s volleyball. Carthage College was the host school for the Friday-Saturday April 16-17, 2010 event, and the third-seeded Red Men received a berth in the four-team event, along with fourth-seeded Nazareth College, second-seeded Springfield College and top-seeded the University of California-Santa Cruz. Nazareth won the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Tournament. Springfield is the NCAA Division III representative of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), and the University of California-Santa Cruz earned an at-large berth.

Day	Date	Game
April 16	Fri.	UC-Santa Cruz def. Nazareth, semifinals (30-25, 30-27, 30-25)
April 16	Fri.	Springfield def. Carthage, semifinals (30-22, 30-22, 30-28)
April 17	Sat.	Carthage def. Nazareth, consolation (30-25, 30-21, 30-26)
April 17	Sat.	Springfield, def. UC-Santa Cruz, championship 23-30, 32-30, 30-26, 30-22

All Tournament Team
Alberto Bravo, Springfield (MVP)
A.J. Nally, Springfield
Eric Shoemaker, Springfield
Sal La Cavera III, UC-Santa Cruz
Austin Einhorn, UC-Santa Cruz
Randy Hansen, Carthage
Hans Schroeder, Nazareth

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Tournament Appearances

10 - Juniata (1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)

  8 - Springfield (1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010)

6 - Stevens (2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)

  5 - UC Santa Cruz (2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010)

4 - La Verne (1998, 1999, 2002, 2003)

3 - Carthage (2005, 2007, 2010)
        D'Youville (1999, 2000, 2001)

  2 - Clarke (1999, 2001)
        Eastern Mennonite (1998, 2004)
        Medaille (2004, 2005)
        NYU (2000, 2002)
        UC San Diego (1997, 2000)
        Vassar (2001, 2008)

1 - Lehman (2002)
       Nazareth (2010)
       New Jersey Tech (1997)
       Ramapo (2009)
       Rivier (2006)

Tournament Titles

  6 - Juniata (1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
  6- Springfield (1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010)
1 - La Verne (1999)
        UC San Diego (2000)

Championship Match Appearances

7 - Juniata (1998, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
6 - Springfield (1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010)
3 - La Verne (1998, 1999, 2002)

2 - Carthage (2005, 2007)
        D'Youville (1999, 2001)
        UC Santa Cruz (2006, 2010)
  1 - New Jersey Tech (1997)
       NYU (2000)
       Stevens (2009)
       UC San Diego (2000)
       Vassar (2008)

Tournament Results

2010: 1. Springfield, 2. UC-Santa Cruz, 3. Carthage, 4. Nazareth (host: Carthage)
2009: 1. Juniata; 2. Stevens; 3. UC Santa Cruz; 4. Ramapo (host: Ramapo)
2008: 1. Springfield; 2. Vassar; 3. UC Santa Cruz; 4. Juniata (host: Springfield)
2007: 1. Juniata; 2 Carthage; 3 Springfield; 4 Stevens (host: Juniata)
2006: 1 Juniata; 2 UC Santa Cruz; 3 Stevens; 4 Rivier (host: Stevens)
2005: 1. Juniata; 2. Carthage; 3. Stevens; 4. Medaille (host: Stevens)
2004: 1. Juniata; 2. Medaille; 3. UC Santa Cruz; 4. Eastern Mennonite (host: Eastern Mennonite)
2003: 1. Springfield; 2. Juniata; 3. La Verne; 4. Stevens (host: Juniata)
2002: 1. Springfield; 2. La Verne; 3. NYU; 4. Lehman (host: NYU)
2001: 1. Springfield; 2. D'Youville; 3. Clarke; 4. Vassar (host: Springfield)
2000: 1. UC San Diego; 2. NYU; 3. D'Youville; 4. Stevens (host: Stevens)
1999: 1. La Verne; 2. D'Youville; 3. Clarke; 4. Juniata (host: Clarke)
1998: 1. Juniata; 2. La Verne; 3. Springfield; 4. Eastern Mennonite (host: Springfield)
1997: 1. Springfield; 2. New Jersey Tech; 3. Juniata; 4. UC San Diego (host: Juniata)