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Expansion has arrived for college men’s volleyball.
There will be 10 NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball programs playing their inaugural season in 2022. Check out this introduction of what to know about each of the new teams.
American International
Conference affiliation: Independent
NCAA Division: Division II
Location: Springfield, Massachusetts
Head coach: Hector Jose Reyes (previously technical coordinator for Iowa State women’s volleyball)
Marquee match on schedule: vs. Daemen on Jan. 21
Inaugural roster note: American International has yet to release its 2022 roster.
Benedict
Conference affiliation: SIAC
NCAA Division: Division II
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Head coach: Gwendolyn Rouse (also currently serving as Benedict women’s volleyball head coach)
Marquee match on schedule: vs. Lees-McRae on March 22
Inaugural roster note: Four Benedict freshmen were previously members of the Virgin Islands Boys’ Youth National Team – libero Taj Bates, opposite Jomari Jacobs and setter Ahijaa Sweeney, middle attacker DeAndrea Taylor. Sweeny also finished second among all players averaging 9.07 assists per game at the 2019 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball U19 Championship.
Central State
Conference affiliation: SIAC
NCAA Division: Division II
Location: Wilberforce, Ohio
Head coach: Ray Lewis (previously Benedictine-Mesa head coach)
Marquee match on schedule: vs. Purdue Fort Wayne on March 26
Inaugural roster note: Outside attacker Yaron Afek was the first player to sign with Central State and competed with the Israeli Men’s Junior National Team at the 2018 CEV U20 European Championship.
Edward Waters
Conference affiliation: SIAC
NCAA Division: Division II
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Head coach: Brandon Reeves (previously Chicago State women’s volleyball head coach)
Marquee match on schedule: at No. 1 Hawai’i (2x) on Jan. 14-16
Inaugural roster note: Eight players on the Edward Waters roster have represented their countries at international tournaments. Among players with international experiences includes opposite Kaalen Ingram who while playing for Belize was named the Best Opposite at the 2019 U19 Central American Championship.
Fairleigh Dickinson
Conference affiliation: Independent (NEC starting in 2023)
NCAA Division: Division I
Location: Hackensack, New Jersey
Head coach: Karl France (previously NYU assistant coach and Rutgers-Newark head coach)
Marquee match on schedule: vs. No. 15 NJIT on Feb. 5
Inaugural roster note: There are international players from four nations – Colombia, Russia, Peru and Portugal – on the team’s inaugural roster. In addition, middle attacker Santiago La Jara played for the Peru Men’s Junior National Team at the 2019 U21 Pan American Cup.
Fort Valley State
Conference affiliation: SIAC
NCAA Division: Division II
Location: Fort Valley, Georgia
Head coach: Larry Wrather (previously Charleston assistant coach)
Marquee match on schedule: vs. No. 2 UCLA on March 26
Inaugural roster note: Five of the 11 players on the Fort Valley State roster are from Florida. In addition, setter Justin Yates arrives from California after being selected to participate in the USA Volleyball High Performance Program last year.
Kentucky State
Conference affiliation: SIAC
NCAA Division: Division II
Location: Frankfort, Kentucky
Head coach: Katrina English (also currently serving as Kentucky State women’s volleyball head coach)
Marquee match on schedule: vs. No. 1 Hawai’i on Feb. 4 in Texas
Inaugural roster note: Kentucky State has yet to release its 2022 roster.
Long Island
Conference affiliation: Independent (NEC starting in 2023)
NCAA Division: Division I
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Head coach: Shawn Patchell (previously Concordia-Irvine head coach)
Marquee match on schedule: at No. 1 Hawai’i (3x) on Feb. 8-11
Inaugural roster note: Five of the 12 players on the Long Island roster are from California. Outside attacker Caden Satterfield transferred from Orange Coast College after being fifth in the Orange Empire Conference with a 3.07 kills per game average on a .369 attack percentage last season.
Maryville
Conference affiliation: Independent
NCAA Division: Division II
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Head coach: Mike Haston (previously Fontbonne head coach)
Marquee match on schedule: at Lindenwood on Feb. 5
Inaugural roster note: Nine states are represented on Maryville’s inaugural roster – Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New York and Wisconsin.
Morehouse
Conference affiliation: SIAC
NCAA Division: Division II
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Head coach: Emory Lightfoot (also currently serving as Morehouse women’s volleyball head coach)
Marquee match on schedule: vs. No. 2 UCLA on March 25
Inaugural roster note: The team’s inaugural 16-player roster features three players from New Jersey and two players from Washington D.C.