NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Top-seeded Belmont Abbey opened a 2-0 sets lead with solid hitting, then finished with a flurry in the fourth set to capture the 2024 Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Tournament with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 25-17) victory over North Greenville Saturday night.

With the win, the Crusaders improve to 21-4 and earn an automatic bid the NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship April 29-May 4 in Long Beach, Calif. North Greenville closes its season at 17-10.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Matthew Staskunas tallied 16 kills and added two aces to earn Tournament Most Valuable Player honors
• Ryan Charles and Zach Puentes tallied nine kills each. The duo also tallied six digs a piece.
• Joseph Morris dished out 32 assists and had two service aces.
• Alejandro Leon and Jibriel Elhaddad keyed the defensive effort with 12 digs and seven blocks, respectively.
• After winning the first two sets by hitting close to .300 combined (.298), Belmont Abbey cooled in the third with a -.032 percentage in the third.
• But in the championship-winning set, The Abbey hit. 400, exploding to a 20-9 lead. NGU did not make it easy, though, closding to 20-16 before a closing flurry to take the title.
• Morris and puentes joined Staskunas on the all tournament team
• With the win, head coach Derek Sullivan equals his predecessor, Nolan Albrecht, as the winningest coaches in program history. Both have 51 victories leading the crusaders