KENOSHA, Wis. (April 16) -- The Thiel College Men's Volleyball's historical 2026 season came to an end in the NCAA Tournament Play-In Round to No. 15 Dominican University (Ill.) in straight sets by scores of 26-24, 25-18 and 25-17 Thursday from Carthage College's Tarble Arena.
The Tomcats (23-9) end the season with a program-record 23 wins as they claimed back-to-back Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) championships and became the first team in school history to make consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Thiel achieved its first national ranking since 2014 and climbed as high as No. 17 in the AVCA poll.
Set one had 14 ties and seven lead changes. Thiel used a 5-0 run with
Ezra Oesterling (Shelocta, Pa./West Shamokin) at the service line to pull Thiel ahead 18-16. Oesterling had three aces and a kill in the run. The Cats tallied 3-of-4 with the last kill coming from
Kaleb Proudfoot (Butler, Pa./Butler) to make it 22-21 Tomcats. Thiel saved a pair of set points at 24-22 with a
Bryce Lizanich (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) block but the Stars (23-5) nabbed the last 2 to go ahead 1-0.
Oesterling had a match-high-tying 11 kills with four aces. Oesterling ended the season with 388 kills, the fourth-most in a season in team history. His 71 aces were a program record as he has the second-most career aces (113) in team history.
Proudfoot totaled four kills on the night as he caps his historic Thiel career as the program record holder in career hitting percentage (.410). His 271 blocks are third-most in school history while his 86 solo blocks are second-most in team lore.
Lizanich finished with three kills and two blocks as his .395 hitting percentage was the second-highest in a season in team history.
Thiel used a 3-0 run in set two to pull even at 14 before Dominican answered with 4 in a row and 5-of-6 to lead 19-15. A
George Schwalm IV (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) kill made it 19-17 before the Stars closed the frame with 6-of-7 to lead 2-0.
Schwalm IV recorded six kills on .308 as he ended his freshman campaign with 159 kills while hitting .270.
Thiel was within striking distance in set three as a
Tyler Hussey (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) kill evened things at 7. Dominican forged ahead as they hit .520 in set three to seal the sweep.
Hussey finished with five kills and a block to close his career with 307 kills.
Will Zimmerman (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley) added two kills and aces each as he ends his Thiel career as the program aces record holder with 117. He also logged a team-most eight digs.
Ben Lowell (Portland, Ore./Sunset) led Thiel with 14 assists and five digs while
Eli Olszowka (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) had 13 helpers and four digs.
Josh Hovan (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) recorded three digs while
Josh Pugh (Wexford, Pa./Pine Richland) had two and
Brandon Gala (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) logged one at libero. The Cats were outdug 28-25.
Thiel logged six aces in the defeat to end the season with a program-record 219 aces. Thiel's 240.5 blocks for the year were fourth-most in team history.
