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Members from the Belgian Junior National Team and England Junior National Team will be among the incoming recruits joining Mount Olive for the upcoming season.
Mount Olive coach David Heller announced Monday that recent high school graduates Hollevoet and Robert Poole, Bret Rutledge, Peyton Schirman, Jeff Yasalonis and Victor Zamudio all committed to play for Mount Olive starting in the 2015 season.
“I’m very excited to get to work with these six young men joining the program,” Heller said in a statement. “All six will be competing for spots that were vacated by our seniors, as well as looking to challenge our returning players. … These six players may be the most decorated group to come into the University of Mount Olive men’s volleyball program.”
Hollevoet, a 6-foot-5 outside attacker from Belgium, spent the last five years as a member of the Belgian Junior National Team.
Poole, a 6-foot-8 opposite from the United Kingdom, was the most valuable player of the English Division I National League and the English U-18 National Championship. He also competed for England at the North European Volleyball Zonal Association tournament.
Both Hollevoet and Pool received international scholarships to join the Trojans. In addition, Mount Olive will have four international players on its roster for the upcoming season.
Rutledge, a 6-foot-6 opposite from Orlando, Florida, was a two-time All-Central Florida Team selection while playing with his high school team. The opposite also earned the most valuable player award and All-American honors at the 2012 AAU National Championship.
Schirman, a 6-foot-5 outside attacker from Alpine, California, was a three-sport athlete in high school and a three-time all-conference selection in volleyball. As a senior, Schirman was named the school’s male athlete of the year and led his high school to a league championship.
Yasalonis, a 6-foot-5 setter from Yardley Pennsylvania, finished his high school career with the school record in career assists and was selected to back-to-back all-state teams as junior and senior. Beyond the court, Yasalonis received the Barack Obama Presidential Education Award for outstanding academic excellence.
Zamudio, a 6-foot-4 outside attacker from Hawaii, earned first-team all-conference honor as a senior with his high school team earlier this year. He also during his high school career was a two-time AAU All-American and won a USA Volleyball Beach national championship.
Mount Olive ended last season in third place in the Conference Carolinas and advanced to the Conference Carolinas Tournament championship match.