When a team loses two of its top players from the previous season and features just two returning upperclassmen on its roster, it generally signals that a rebuilding phase is officially underway. 

But for the Crimson Eagle men’s volleyball team, rebuilding was the last thing on their mind in 2008.

After piecing together perhaps the greatest season in program history and generating numerous individual and team awards and records, the Crimson Eagles achieved by far their most impressive distinction of the year in early April. PBU’s youthful squad etched their legacy in the record books by becoming the first men’s volleyball team to triumph in a NECVA Tournament match following a 3-1 rout over Baruch College in a first round playoff contest on April 4.

The postseason win over the Bearcats capped a phenomenal year that saw PBU’s historic journey start off with a bang, much to the surprise of many spectators.

Entering the season with more than a few question marks, the Crimson Eagles jelled together early and rolled off eight straight wins to open the year including a marquee victory over traditional powerhouse Eastern Mennonite University, last year’s NECVA runner-up and ranked 12th nationally at the time, for PBU’s first win in seven attempts against the Royals dating back to 2004. 

Following the breakthrough win over EMU and a surprisingly arduous victory against a scrappy Lancaster Bible team three days later, Coach Jade Brubaker’s squad hit their first road bump in early February during a 3-1 loss against 10th ranked Medaille College. Despite the setback, the young group responded to the defeat with veteran-like poise and managed to construct another streak, this time rattling off seven consecutive wins, to help engineer the program’s best start in nearly 13 years. The span included a monumental win over the top ranked team in all of Division III as the Crimson Eagles managed to sweep Nazareth College in three games to give PBU their first ever win against a number one ranked team in program history.

Owners of a highly impressive 15-1 overall record in late February, the volleyball team fell for just the second time on the season in a 3-1 loss to 6th ranked Vassar College. PBU regrouped to prevail in their next four contests, but things soon went south as the squad dropped back-to-back contests for the first time on the year and came out on the losing end in three of the team’s final four matches to wrap-up the regular season.

But thankfully for the Crimson Eagles, the same notion is true for any sport at any level: in the great world of athletics, the only thing that truly matters is getting hot at the right time.

After uncharacteristically falling in three contests during a five day period, PBU made sure to pull together when it mattered. The Crimson Eagles conquered the rest of the Western Division during postseason play at the NECVA Crossover. PBU pumped out three consecutive wins, including victories against two nationally ranked teams (#13 D’Youville, #6 Nazareth), to secure their first ever Western Division Title in school history.

The volleyball team's impressive two-day stretch at the NECVA Crossover led to a #2 seeding for the Crimson Eagles in the NECVA Tournament, marking the second consecutive year that the volleyball team has been invited to the 16 team field and just the third time overall in program history.

Following PBU’s landmark 3-1 victory over Baruch in the first round, the Crimson Eagles were upset by all-too-familiar nemesis Eastern Mennonite 3-0 in the quarterfinals to knock PBU out of the playoffs and end their hope for tournament championship. The Royals, who were limited by several untimely injuries throughout the majority of the year and were undoubtedly much strong than their #10 tournament ranking assumed, plowed through the Crimson Eagles by getting it done on the defensive end. PBU was limited to a .117 team hitting percentage, marking their third lowest output of the season and just the fifth time on the year that the squad failed to hit the .200 mark.

Despite the somewhat disappointing loss, the Crimson Eagles racked up numerous team records and awards on the way to the most distinguished season in program history, including the following highlights:

• Biggest one-year turn around in the history of the NECVA conference, from 21-14 a year ago to 24-6 this season
• Wins over nine nationally ranked teams through the course of the year versus just five losses (.634 winning percentage)
• Greatest number of wins in a single season in school history
• Second time ever the men’s volleyball team has been ranked nationally; achieved highest ranking in program history at 10th nationally, holding the spot for three different weeks throughout the year (Mar. 4, Mar. 11, Apr. 2)
• Defeated a number one ranked team in the nation for the first time in school history (Nazareth College, Feb. 22)
• Second highest overall winning percentage in program history (80 percent)
• Ranked in the top fifteen nationally during nine of fifteen weeks throughout the season
• Third time in school history the Crimson Eagles have qualified for the NECVA Tournament

Rookie outside hitter Justin Brubaker led the way statistically for PBU. In just his first season with the Crimson Eagles, Brubaker finished tops in the nation in kills a game (5.67) and second overall in total points a game (6.37). Additionally, Brubaker led the Crimson Eagles in digs a game (2.38) and attacking percentage (.317). The native of Telford, PA posted the second greatest kill total during a match in all of NCAA III this year after landing 38 kills against D’Youville College on March 28, simultaneously snapping PBU’s single match kill record. For his efforts, Brubaker pulled in countless awards, becoming the first athlete in PBU men’s volleyball history to be named Player-of-the-Year in the NECVA Western Division. But perhaps the most celebrated honor Brubaker garnered was when he was named a Division III First Team All-American, marking the first time any Crimson Eagle athlete in any sport has ever been named an NCAA III All-American.

Classmate Drew Dillon finished seventh overall in the nation in terms of assists per game (12.03) at the setter position for PBU, and ended second on the team in hitting percentage (.304), trailing only Brubaker. Dillon was twice named the NECVA Western Division Player-of-the-Week throughout the year.

Second-year captain Leandro Dueck completed the season ranked 16th nationally in terms of kills a game (3.89) and 14th overall in points a game (4.72) and joined Brubaker on the NECVA All-Tournament team following the postseason. First year middle hitter Cory Ermold led PBU in total blocks (84), and junior outside hitter Ben Fuller did a little bit of everything by chipping in 2.24 digs a game and 1.83 kills a game while hitting .226 on the year. Head coach Jade Brubaker was named Coach-of-the-Year of the Western Division for the first time in his three year career.