St. Thomas Captures AAC Men's Volleyball Tournament Title

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - St. Thomas defeated Reinhardt 3-1 on Saturday in Kingsport, Tenn., winning the 2026 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Men's Volleyball Tournament championship behind a high-efficiency offensive performance and a dominant outing from Kaelen Ingram. St. Thomas took the match 25-16, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19.

This is the second year in a row that St. Thomas has won the title.

The key difference was efficiency. St. Thomas finished with 46 kills and a .326 attack percentage, compared with 44 kills and a .128 mark for Reinhardt. The Bobcats also got 44 assists and 12 team blocks, while Reinhardt posted 41 assists and 10 team blocks. Rafael Obrusnik directed the St. Thomas offense with 43 assists, helping the team regain control after dropping the second set.

Ingram was the standout for St. Thomas. He recorded 23 kills on a .514 hitting percentage, added an ace, and finished with 26 points. He played a central role in several of the match's defining moments, including the close of the opening set, when St. Thomas pulled away 25-16, and the final point of the third set, which came on another Ingram kill for a 25-21 edge and a 2-1 match lead. Gabriel Negrao added 11 kills and seven digs for St. Thomas.

Reinhardt answered in the second set and briefly shifted the match's momentum. Gabriel Gutierrez put away the final kill in a 25-21 set win, giving Reinhardt a split through two sets. Gutierrez led Reinhardt with 13 kills and 13.5 points, while Jakub Aniolczyk contributed eight kills, four block assists, one ace, and 11 points.

Even with the second-set response, Reinhardt had trouble matching St. Thomas point for point over the full match. Reinhardt committed 30 attack errors and 17 service errors, while St. Thomas limited its attack errors to 15. Both teams finished with one ace and one reception error, but St. Thomas made more of its scoring chances at the net and stayed in front through most of the final two sets.

St. Thomas closed the match in the fourth set, 25-19. The final point was recorded on a service error, ending a match in which St. Thomas relied on Ingram's production, Obrusnik's distribution, and a stronger overall attack percentage to secure the four-set win in Kingsport.

Ingram was named the Tournament MVP with Obrusnik and Negrao joining him on the All-Tournament Team. Also making the squad are Gutierrez and Decklan Fongbemi of Reinhardt, Riley Chapman of Life, and Romone Rudolph of Warner.

With the tournament win, St. Thomas punched its ticket for the NAIA National Championship Tournament, which is set for April 28-May 2 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.