Article By: Jacob Walsh
Apr. 14, 2025 — Thiel Men’s Volleyball completed their first season in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference with a dominant 14-0 undefeated season while capturing the conference’s regular season and playoff championships.
The Tomcats were crowned PAC regular season champions back on April 4th after beating Hiram to win every single conference match this season. Thiel then rolled the winning mentality into the Inaugural PAC Championship Playoff Tournament for Men’s Volleyball.
Thiel Men’s Volleyball faced off in the semi-final match at home against the Saint Vincent Bearcats on Thursday, April 10th. Thiel vanquished SVC in a dominant 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-20, 25-18) to clinch their spot in the Inaugural PAC Championship Match.
The win set the stage for Thiel to meet up with their Mercer County rival, Grove City, in the Championship Match. On Saturday, April 12th, the Tomcats hosted Grove City at Beeghly Gymnasium on Maenpa Court. At home, in front of a large crowd of fans, the Thiel College Tomcats Men’s Volleyball Team capped off their inaugural PAC season as undefeated Regular Season Champions and PAC Playoff Champions. With the win, Thiel set the record for wins (22) and win streak (15) in program history. The Tomcats were also undefeated at home this season, going 9-0.
In the championship match, Thiel continued their dominant performance, sweeping the Wolverines three sets to none (25-20, 25-17, 25-16). Thiel also punched their ticket to their first-ever NCAA DIII Men’s Volleyball Tournament appearance. Through selection on Monday, April 14th, Thiel (22-6) was placed into a play-in match against Saint Joseph’s Long Island (22-8) at Southern Virginia University on April 17th. The winner of the play-in match will play hosting Southern Virginia on April 18th.
Match Statistics
Thiel hit .419 in the match while holding Grove City to .193. The Tomcats also were favored in digs (28-25), with senior libero David Gonzalez adding four himself. Freshman Phenom Ezra Oesterling captured 16 kills, two aces, and one block, all in the process of tallying his 400th kill of the season. Junior Kaleb Proudfoot had 10 kills with three blocks. Senior Jake Dies chipped in with eight kills, one ace, and four blocks. Junior Will Zimmerman added five kills, with one ace and one block.
2025 Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) All-Tournament Team
Most Outstanding Player – Senior Jake Dies
Thiel Members – Senior Jake Dies, Freshman Ezra Oesterling, Junior Kaleb Proudfoot
The Thielensian congratulates the 2025 PAC Men’s Volleyball regular season and playoff champion Thiel College Tomcats and wishes them luck in the NCAA Tournament!
