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The top players in Erskine’s program history are closing out the decade with a college men’s volleyball honor.
Off the Block announced on Monday the seven players selected to the Erskine All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block.
The All-Decade Starting Lineup recognizes the best players to compete with a team since 2010. Similar to the starting lineup for a match, the All-Decade honor is comprised of a setter, opposite and libero along with two outside attackers and middle attackers.
The Off the Block staff determined the All-Decade Starting Lineup using a variety of factors including career statistical performance and the team’s overall success when a player was a member of the program.
This is also part of a series from Off the Block to celebrate the end of the decade in college men’s volleyball. Off the Block throughout the rest of 2019 will release an All-Decade Starting Lineup for every NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
Erskine concluded the decade as one of two ConfCarolinas programs to make multiple NCAA Tournament appearances. The Fleet won the ConfCarolinas title in 2014 to earn the conference’s first automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and then returned to the NCAA Tournament as conference champions in 2016.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that was established in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball.
Erskine All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block
Setter: David Grandy
Outside attacker: Mike Michelau
Outside attacker: Mike Kawa
Outside attacker: Roberto Perez Vargas
Middle attacker: Omar Melendez
Middle attacker: Keegan Sullivan
Libero: Michael Schneck
Coming off the bench: Cory Marks, Isaac Lanier
*Off the Block selected an additional outside attacker in lieu of an opposite.
David Grandy (2015-16)
Awards and honors: 2016 Third-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Grandy in his final season was fourth in the nation with an 11.09 assists per game average en route to winning the ConfCarolinas championship and reaching the NCAA Tournament. The Fleet ended the season hitting .285, including having more than a .300 attack percentage in both the ConfCarolinas Tournament quarterfinals and finals. Grandy was inserted into the starting lineup midway through the 2015 season helped guide the Fleet to the eighth-best attack percentage in the nation at .297. He also finished an 11.81 assists per game average as Erskine reached the ConfCarolinas Tournament finals.
Mike Kawa (2013-16)
Awards and honors: 2013 ConfCarolinas Freshman of the Year, 2013 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2014 Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Kawa spent time at middle attacker and outside attacker throughout his college career. In his freshman season, Kawa was in the conference’s top 10 with both a 3.52 kills per game average and a .300 attack percentage. He also finished the 2014 season with a 2.48 kills per game average and third in the conference averaging 0.36 aces per game as he helped Erskine earn the conference’s inaugural berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Mike Michelau (2013-16)
Awards and honors: 2013 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2014 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2014 ConfCarolinas Tournament Most Valuable Player, 2014 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team, 2015 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2016 ConfCarolinas Player of the Year, 2016 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2016 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team
Michelau finished each of his final three seasons in the nation’s top five averaging more than 4.00 kills per game. The opposite in his senior season had a career-best 4.47 kills per game average and had more than 20 kills in seven matches as he led the Fleet to the ConfCarolinas championship and the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. Michelau during his last two seasons was in the conference’s top 10 with more than a .300 attack percentage. In addition, he had 148 career aces highlighted by being seventh in the nation averaging a career-best 0.46 aces per game in 2016.
Omar Melendez (2013-16)
Awards and honors: 2014 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team, 2015 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team
Melendez had a .339 career attack percentage and finished every season in the conference’s top 10 for attack percentage. The middle attacker in 2015 also finished fifth in the nation with a career-best .419 attack percentage and had double-digit kills in nine matches, including a season-high 16 kills while hitting .652 in a ConfCarolinas Tournament semifinals win versus Mount Olive. Along with his offensive performance, Melendez had more than 250 career blocks and at least 20 aces in all four seasons.
Michael Schneck (2013-16)
Awards and honors: 2013 ConfCarolinas Defensive Player of the Year, 2013 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2014 Third-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2015 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team, 2016 ConfCarolinas Defensive Player of the Year, 2016 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2016 ConfCarolinas Tournament Most Valuable Player, 2016 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team
Schneck as a senior was second in the nation averaging 2.95 digs per game, including having a match-high nine digs in a ConfCarolinas Tournament finals sweep against Barton. The libero finished all four seasons in the conference’s top 10 for digs and had 972 career digs. Among his top performances featured a match-high 18 digs in a victory against Mount Olive in the 2015 ConfCarolinas Tournament semifinals.
Keegan Sullivan (2016-19)
Awards and honors: 2019 Third-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Sullivan in his senior season was seventh in the nation with a career-high .417 attack percentage. The middle attacker had double-digit kills in eight matches, including a season-high 22 kills on a .613 attack percentage in a five-game upset victory against King. This also was the third consecutive season that Sullivan finished with more than a .300 attack percentage.
Roberto Perez Vargas (2014-16)
Awards and honors: 2014 ConfCarolinas Freshman of the Year, 2014 Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2015 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2016 Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2016 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team
Vargas in his final season at Erskine was in the conference’s top 10 with both a 4.06 kills per game average and a .319 attack percentage. The outside attacker that season had double-digit kills in 21 matches, including 11 kills in the team’s NCAA Tournament opening-round match against Long Beach State. This was third consecutive season that Vargas was in the ConfCarolinas top 10 for kills. As a freshman, Vargas was fourth in the ConfCarolinas averaging 3.69 kills per game on a .302 attack percentage as he helped Erskine win its first of two ConfCarolinas championships.