Men's Volleyball Secures Second NCAA Statistical Championship in Program History

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, N.Y. (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team has been crowned the 2023 NCAA Statistical Champions in digs per set.

The Bears averaged 13.19 digs per stanza, narrowly surpassing Trine University (13.16) in second place and Saint Vincent College (12.87) in third. Throughout the season, the team also shattered the program record for digs in a single match on three occasions; accomplishing this feat twice against Sarah Lawrence (103, 99) and once against Purchase (101).

In their initial encounter with Sarah Lawrence, Leonel Bravo (Astoria, N.Y./Queens Vocational & Technical) recorded 32 digs, the highest number in a four-match contest nationwide this season. The Skyline Conference's first-team libero concluded the campaign with a single-season program-best 255 digs to go with 3.54 digs per set, good for second in the league and fourth in Division III. Alex Helfant (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy International) averaged 3.01 digs per set, placing him fifth in the Skyline and in the top 20 nationally. He ranked second on the team with 211 total digs while Alejandro Oliveros (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grover Cleveland) rounded out the SJBK trio with triple-digit digs, brining up 118.

Helfant, who was named to the All-Skyline second team, also led the nation with 12.38 attacks per set. He also topped the program with 3.26 kills per set and set a new single-match kills record (32) against Yeshiva.

This is the second NCAA statistical championship in men's volleyball program history and first since earning the aces per set crown in 2012. It is also the third statistical championship, individual or team, in the 2022-23 season; following the two individual titles earned by men's soccer's Victor Naci.

A commemorative plaque from the NCAA recognizing the program's performance will soon be on display in The Hill Center trophy case