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Make it now six schools from the Great Lakes Valley Conference to have a men’s volleyball program.
The Missouri University of Science and Technology announced Tuesday that it will add men’s volleyball starting in the 2023 season.
“We are excited to add men’s volleyball as our newest sport at S&T,” athletics director Melissa Ringhausen said in a statement. “Men’s volleyball has grown in popularity at the high school and collegiate levels and the potential is there for our institution to capitalize on this opportunity.”
Missouri S&T is a public university located in Rolla, Missouri, and has an enrollment of about 7,600 students. Men’s volleyball will be the 16th varsity sport for the NCAA Division II school and the first sport it has added since 2017.
This is the sixth school from the GLVC, a NCAA Division II conference, to add a men’s volleyball program. Lewis, McKendree, Lindenwood and Quincy are all members of the MIVA, while Maryville will begin its inaugural men’s volleyball season next year.
Along with starting a men’s volleyball program, Missouri S&T announced Tuesday that Andy Halaz will serve as the head coach.
Halaz is entering his fourth season as the head coach of the Missouri S&T women’s volleyball team. The Miners last season were ranked in the national coaches poll for the first time in program history and reached the conference tournament finals.
“Coach Halaz has done a fantastic job with our women’s volleyball program and I am confident he will provide outstanding leadership and guidance as we begin to build our men’s volleyball program,” Ringhausen said. “He is well-connected in the volleyball community and has a solid record of recruiting high-achieving student-athletes to the university.”
Halaz will continue to serve as the women’s volleyball head coach while coaching the men’s volleyball team.