The Lancaster Bible College Men's Volleyball team played in the NCAA Division III Tournament Play-In Round on Thursday night in Hoboken, N.J. as they took on #19 Endicott, falling in straight sets 3-0. The Chargers see their 2026 season come to a close at 17-12 overall while the Gulls improve to 23-3 overall and advance to the NCAA First Round where they will take on #5 California Lutheran on Friday evening.
 
How it Happened:
The score was tied 3-3 early on as Kevin Bryant (Jr.) landed the Chargers' first kill of the game, then the Gulls scored four straight points to pull ahead. Devin Galloway (Jr.) landed two blocks over the next few points for LBC, but the Gulls scored another four in a row to lead 13-6. Endicott held strong, holding the Chargers without back-to-back points in the first set as they took the opening bout 25-14 on a service ace.
 
Galloway opened set two with a kill as the teams tied 3-3 again, then the Chargers scored three in a row including a block by Bryant and Timothy Fletcher (So.), giving LBC their first lead of the day at 6-5. The Chargers then led by two after a block, then again off a kill by Carson Hoover (Jr.), then after Endicott reclaimed the lead the Chargers took it right back on kills by Zeke Clark (Jr.) and Hoover at 11-10. The Gulls then swung ahead 13-11 and took momentum, building their lead to four points at 21-17 to create some separation. The Chargers, however, powered back in the set, using several kills from Clark to work back into the set and fending off two set points, tying the set at 24-24 on a kill by Bryant. Endicott then scored back-to-back points late to clinch the 26-24 set two win and go up 2-0 in the match.
 
Endicott seized control early in the third set with a 5-1 start, building their lead to 8-2 as the Chargers called a timeout. Fletcher then landed a service ace to cut the lead to five, then Bryant and Braden Escover (Fr.) picked up kills as the teams traded points with the deficit staying around six. The Chargers then got three points in a row including a kill and a block by Clark, but the Gulls hung on to take the set 25-17, sweeping the Chargers as they advanced in the NCAA Tournament and the Chargers seeing their season wrap up in the opening round.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Gulls led in kills 37-25 and landed four service aces to LBC's one, while the Chargers held a 6-5 advantage in blocks
- Zeke Clark led the Chargers on a team-high nine kills with two blocks
- Kevin Bryant added six kills with two blocks
- Timothy Fletcher had 20 assists and team-highs of five digs, three blocks, and one service ace
- The Gulls were led by Jake Laborde with 12 kills, four blocks, and two service aces
 
Information to Know:
This was the Chargers' first-ever matchup with Endicott in Men's Volleyball and their fifth match this season against a ranked opponent. The Chargers are now 1-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and now have the most NCAA Tournament appearances (4) and games played (5) of any LBC program in Lancaster Bible history. The Men's Volleyball team also became the first program at Lancaster Bible to clinch three straight NCAA Tournament berths ('24, '25, '26), with all five of their tournament matches coming against different opponents. The Chargers have now had 10 consecutive seasons with double-digit wins and have won at least 17 games in their last five seasons. Head coach Jade Brubaker ends this season with 210 career victories, the most by any head coach in program history, as well as his sixth conference Coach of the Year award after winning it for the United East this season. Kevin Bryant landed his 200th career block in today's match, becoming just the fourth player in program history to surpass 200 blocks. Senior Nicholas Marion ends the season with over 250 digs at 254 for the year, the sixth-most digs in a single season in program history. Marion also ranks fifth in program history with 546 career digs, one of just nine Chargers to ever pass the 500-dig milestone.
 
This marks the conclusion of the 2026 season for the LBC Men's Volleyball team. Congratulations to the Chargers on their conference championship, NCAA Tournament berth, and a fantastic season!