2024 Men’s Volleyball Season Preview
2023 Record: 16-10, 14-4 Heart
Starters returning/lost: 4/2
Letterwinners returning: 17/5
Notable Returners:
Landon Krause, Sr., Appleton, Wis.
(AVCA and NAIA All-America, 217 kills, .302 pct., 106 digs)
Ike Papes, Sr., Elwood, Ill.
(AVCA and NAIA All-America, 288 kills, .273 pct., 82 digs)
Charlie Figy, Sr., Appleton, Wis.
(AVCA Second-Team All-America, 188 kills, .425 pct., 79 blocks)
Matt Helmick, Sr., Fullerton, Calif.
(AVCA Honorable-Mention All-America, 878 assists, 136 digs)
Notable Losses:
Eli Herro (All-America)
Carlos Garcia (Letterwinner)
CJ Rettig (Letterwinner)
The Statesmen men's volleyball team will look to utilize its senior leadership as it enters the 2024 campaign.
Head Coach Luke Bentley, who is in his fifth season at the helm, led William Penn to a 16-10 overall record last spring, including a 14-4 mark in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
The Statesmen were ranked all year and return a plethora of talent from that roster, including four AVCA All-Americans in Landon Krause (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management), Ike Papes (Sr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management), Charlie Figy (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education PE K-12), and Matt Helmick (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management).
Outside Hitter
Papes paced the offense in 2023 with 288 kills (3.60 per set) at a .273 attack clip. A consistent hitter with 13 double-digit kill outings, he also managed 82 digs, 40 blocks, and 33 aces.
Devyn Zavala (Jr., Long Beach, Calif., Wellness and Recreation) will step into a larger role as Papes' backup after notching 72 kills in addition to 17 aces and 34 digs.
Right Side Hitter
Krause dealt with a nagging injury last season that kept him out of several matches, but he is back to full strength for his senior campaign. He recorded 217 kills (.302 attack %) in 2023, while also posting a team-best 37 aces along with 106 digs and 31 blocks.
Anthony Torres (Sr., Aurora, Ill., Computer Science) is sitting in the wings as a more than capable replacement, having tallied 46 kills as a junior.
Middle Hitter
Figy's 2023 season came with 188 kills on a squad-high .425 hitting mark. The senior also guided the net defenders with 79 blocks.
Britten Beallis (So., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) gained valuable experience as a freshman and is set to take on more responsibility after finishing 2023 with 23 kills and seven blocks.
Setter
'Quarterbacking' the offense once again will be Helmick after assisting on 878 kills (10.45 per set) last spring. He added 17 kills along with 136 digs and 34 blocks.
Cezar Pedroso (So., Curitiba, Brazil, Software Engineering) will again serve as Helmick's backup following a campaign in which he tallied 74 digs as a freshman.
Libero
The lone newcomer in the starting lineup will be freshman Joao Gabriel Filippelli (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) who looks to hold down the back line.
Luke Luckfield (Jr., Honolulu, Hawaii, Software Engineering) is also in the mix for court time; the junior collected 18 digs in limited play last year.
Conference/Schedule
The Heart will again pose numerous challenges for the navy and gold as six programs are either ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA's preseason poll. William Penn, which opens the season at #10, begins 2024 with a neutral-site match against Ottawa (Ariz.) Thursday as part of three contests in Illinois this weekend.
WPU is set to face nine non-conference opponents in addition to its Heart schedule. The Statesmen will play a total of 10 home matches with its home opener on February 27 against Clarke.
