INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Baldwin Wallace University men's volleyball teams has qualified for the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball National Tournament for the first time in program history.
BW will travel to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania for the first and second rounds. The Yellow Jackets will open the tournament on Friday, April 21 as they will face Juniata College, the host school and the automatic qualifier out of the Continental Volleyball Conference. The match is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Memorial Gymnasium inside of the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center. If the Yellow Jackets win, they will play the winner of Messiah (Pa.) University (an at-large bid out of the Middle Atlantic Conferece) and St. Joseph's (N.Y.) University (an automatic qualifier out of the Skyline Conference) on Saturday, April 22.
Earning the automatic berth into the 16-team tournament by winning the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League Tournament, the Yellow Jackets were also MCVL Regular Season Tri-Champions and carry a record of 26-7 overall.
The MCVL Tournament semifinal was the Yellow Jackets' first postseason match in history, previously finishing no higher than sixth in the regular season in the nine-team conference the past two seasons. The 26-7 mark is record-breaking, and a dramatic improvement from 2022's 8-18 record.
BW is led by junior outside hitter Michael Beard (Hilliard/Darby) and junior setter Brandon Long (Hinckley/Metea Valley, Ill.) as they each earned All-MCVL first team honors. Beard is a three-time All-MCVL honoree and was selected to the MCVL All-Tournament team. He led the conference in kills and aces this year, and totaled 17 kills and 14 digs in the tournament championship match.
Long led the league in assists and assists per set, and leads all of Division III in assists per set (10.37) and is third in Division in total assists (1,027). Sophomore right side hitter Michael Devlin (Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley), who earned All-MCVL second team honors this year, was also named to the MCVL All-Tournament team after totaling match-highs of 18 kills and 19 kills in two matches.
In just his third season as Head Coach, Kyle Mars has taken this program from starting in just the Spring of 2021 to now being regular season and tournament champions, along with qualifying for the national tournament.
