LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East conference has rolled out its men’s volleyball preview for the 2024 season. All seven participating institutions competed under the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) banner in 2023 but, with the merger of the CSAC and United East on July 1, 2023, the United East will sponsor Men’s Volleyball for the first time since 2020.
The seven teams will square off against each other in conference play beginning on Tuesday, March 12th with Valley Forge hosting Lancaster Bible, Pratt Institute hosting Cairn, and Bryn Athyn hosting Saint Elizabeth. The top four teams will earn bids to the postseason which begins on Tuesday, April 9th.
The Championship Match will be held on Saturday, April 14th on the campus of the highest remaining seed. The winner of that match will be crowned United East Champion and earn the conference’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship.
Bryn Athyn College
Beginning their third season of NCAA varsity competition, the Bryn Athyn Lions continue to add pieces to Head Coach Jason Barshinger’s squad. Beginning his second season at the helm, Barshinger will lean on seniors Teagan Dewees (outside hitter; 25 aces, 1.80 digs per set, 94 kills) and Blake Halterman (middle hitter; 40 kills, 20 blocks) to provide leadership as the Lions look to improve on the 2023 season (3-18; 1-5 CSAC). Sophomore setter Laban Genzlinger runs the offense handing out 3.38 assists per set. The Lions open up on Sunday, January 21 hosting a tri-match with Sarah Lawrence and Immaculata along with other non-conference matches including Yeshiva, Purchase College, and King’s College among others prior to United East play beginning in March.
Coach’s Outlook: “The non-conference play in January and February will be important for experience as we add our freshman talent into the mix. Bryan Choute and Adan Rodrigez-Sapien (Newport News, VA) look to make a strong impact on our court. The focus will be on developing our talent, having a strong understanding of our system, and moving forward as we work to build a winning culture at Bryn Athyn.”
Cairn University
Shea Scott begins his first season at the helm of the Cairn University men’s volleyball program, just a year after graduating with two CSAC titles in his four seasons as a student-athlete. The Highlanders (13-9; 5-1 CSAC) lost the title game to Lancaster Bible last season and look to integrate a young squad into their lineup. Senior middle/opposite hitter Joseph Poirier leads the team with a career hitting percentage of .330%, 47 Aces and 108 Blocks while sophomore setter Josh Adler handed out 9.14 Assists per Game last year. The HIghlanders open up with Misericordia on January 18th and have a non-conference highlight matchup with Arcadia on February 28th before the United East schedule begins after spring break.
Coach’s Outlook: “Last spring we graduated a class that was integral to the progression and success the program has seen in the past 4 years. Nonetheless we look forward to the 2024 season with a rejuvenated and youthful lineup that has worked hard to prepare to make a name for themselves as we anticipate the competition of a newly aligned conference.”
Lancaster Bible College
After a perfect 6-0 conference record in the CSAC in 2023 (21-10 overall), the Lancaster Bible College Chargers are back in 2024 looking to repeat as league champions in Head Coach Jade Brubaker’s 10th season at the helm. Led by returners Hunter Davis (Gr. / CSAC Defensive Player of the Year / .369 hitting percentage), Christian Herr (So. / First Team All-Conference / 964 assists / 8.84 assists per game), and Dawson Forney (Jr. / 231 kills / 122 digs / 69 blocks / Second Team All-Conference), the Chargers have a strong group of returners and will add first-year players to strengthen the lineup. A strong non-conference schedule is highlighted by national semi-finalist Messiah University on February 10th as well as the Messiah Invitational on January 27th where the Chargers will face Vassar and Stevens.
Coach’s Outlook: “We return a strong core group of experienced players as well as added some incoming freshman talent. Looking forward to a challenging 2024 season schedule with a great group of dedicated and passionate guys! Excited to see how this team comes together.”
Pratt Institute
Alex Moule begins his first season in charge of Pratt Institute in 2024 as the Cannoneers look to improve on their 2023 output. Pratt will be led by junior Jason Raymond (174.5 points, 149 kills, 19 aces), sophomore Brooks Reid (84.5 points, 222 assists, 59 kills), and sophomore Max Wang (90.5 points, 70 kills, 1.37 points per set) as the experienced set will add some talented first-years over the season. Non-conference matches begin on January 31 against Manhattanville with a highlighted tri-match against Lehman and Neumann on February 17th before hosting a tri-match with Mount Saint Vincent and King’s (Pa.) on February 18th.
Coach’s Outlook: “This is a foundation year for the program. We are working towards building a strong culture that can help this program sustain success for years to come.”
Saint Elizabeth University
Dan Crespo takes over the Saint Elizabeth University men’s volleyball team in 2024 looking to continue the success of the 2023 team who finished 13-9 (4-2 CSAC) en route to a semi-final appearance and a victory in the ECAC Championships. Sam Lugo (Sr. / 107 points) , Eddy Pena (Sr. / 1.88 points per set) , and Brad Mahoney (Sr. / 1.93 Digs per Set / .932 Receive Percentage) lead a young roster through the first season of United East play in 2024 and look towards newcomers to build the depth in the roster. The non-conference schedule is highlighted by tri-matches with King’s (Pa.) and Yeshiva on February 25th in addition to one at Arcadia where they’ll face the host as well as Juniata on March 2nd.
Coach’s Outlook: “Great opportunity for the returning players with limited experience to lead the way for the SEU Eagles.”
University of Valley Forge
University of Valley Forge enters its fourth season as a varsity NCAA program and are continuing their upward trajectory led by Head Coach Kyle Mariano who is in his fifth full season at UVF (1 while the program was in Club status). After a 7-12 (3-6 CSAC) record in 2023, an experienced group of four-year starters are headed by Isaiah (Paul) Brown who led the team in assists last season (368 assists; 2nd team All-CSAC) and Jordan Kieffer (131 digs; 2nd Team All-CSAC in 2022, Honorable Mention in 2023). Junior middle Nathan Whisman led the team in kills (146) last season en route to another 2nd Team All-CSAC honor in 2023 to go with his Rookie of the Year award in 2022. The Patriots have a strong non-conference slate headlined by a tri-match on February 4th at King’s with the host and St. Joseph’s Brooklyn as well as a tri-match at Hood on March 2nd with the hosts and Virginia Wesleyan.
Coach’s Outlook: “We are a young team, but we play with a lot of fire and passion. We are only entering our 4th season since starting as a Men's Volleyball program in 2021. Each year we've improved our record and our level of play and we are looking to continue that trend this year with this group of students. We have a great combination of returning and new players this year. Our libero and setter are 4th year seniors who have a lot of experience and are crucial for us this year, both being co-captains. We have a really talented group of sophomores who are on the team as well. We've added some height and athleticism in the middle to go with our returning middle and co-captain Whisman, who brings the hammer and the fire for us each game. Not to mention we've added a couple of freshmen to the mix who look promising, including a transfer student who is looking to make key contributions to this team right from the jump.
All of that being said, we also are looking at what is our largest roster to date at 14 players. We are coming fresh off a tournament 1st place victory against conference opponents Saint Elizabeth and Bryn Athyn during the non-traditional season in the Fall where we saw some of our younger, less experienced players shine. We realize that we still have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be, but we are very excited, we have a really special group, and we are looking forward to an excellent year. We're ready to make some noise.”
Wilson College
Aaron Hoke begins his third season leading his alma mater after a historic 2023 in which the Phoenix had the most wins and most All-CSAC performers in program history. After a 3-seed in last season’s tournament, Wilson sophomore Xavier Webber (outside hitter; 221 kills, 3.07 kills per set) looks to continue his Rookie of the Year and First Team performance while senior Saria Alshaikhali (All-CSAC Second Team) provide leadership and experience. Sophomore Demetrius Simmons had 138 kills, 39 blocks, and 32 service aces en route to an Honorable Mention nod in his rookie campaign. Wilson opens the season on January 19th with a matchup against Hood and hosts two tri-matches this season; the first with Wilkes and St. Vincent on February 3rd and the second on March 2nd with Neumann and Penn State Schuylkill. United East play begins on March 16th with a home contest against Bryn Athyn.
Coach’s Outlook: “I think we're looking to build off of the success we had last year in our first year of really building the program. I'm optimistic that we'll have our best season in program history.”
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The United East boasts 17 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Clarks Summit University, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, Rosemont College, Saint Elizabeth University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.