North Greenville University men's volleyball makes history, wins NCAA Tournament game

North Greenville University's mens volleyball program is only a few years old.

But that didn't stop them from making history on Sunday night. The Crusaders defeated Princeton, 3-0 in a sweep, in the NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.

NGU is a NCAA Division II university, but in men's volleyball the Conference Carolinas – in which NGU competes – has an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Crusaders won their conference tournament to garner a bid to the NCAA men's volleyball tournament.

Then they traveled to UCLA and shocked No. 14-ranked Princeton in the first round. The win made NGU the first school from its conference to win an NCAA Tournament game in the men's volleyball tournament.

The final set was won by NGU 40-38 in a grudge match that saw the Crusaders do something no team in their conference has before in advancing in the tournament.

"No one expected North Greenville to get to this point," NGU coach Dr. Fred Battenfield said in a press conference Monday night. "People in our own conference didn't even believe that."

Now NGU will turn its attention to defending national champion Hawaii Tuesday at 10:30 p.m..

All of this comes after the Crusaders just began playing mens volleyball in 2015. They're one of only a few schools across the United States to offer it collegiately.

"For a very small school in the north part of South Carolina, it's a tribute not to me but to (assistant coach) Matt (McManaway) and the players and the ones that have been able to continue to believe what we've been trying to do – basically what were trying to do is grow the game in that part of the country."

Battenfield is the first and only coach that the program has had. If he and the Crusaders top Hawaii, they'll play Ball State in the national semifinals.

The reason that an NCAA Division II school like NGU is playing against NCAA Division I schools is because both Division I and II programs compete in the same postseason tournament for men's volleyball – largely due to a lack of schools having it as a varsity sport.

All of the games in the 2022 tournament will be held at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. Last season, Hawaii defeated BYU for the national title.

Joe Dandron covers high school sports for The Greenville News. Have a question, story idea, or story tip involving prep sports in the Upstate? Email him at jdandron@gannett.com or reach out via phone at 864-415-6213.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: North Greenville men's volleyball makes history, wins tournament game