CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Baldwin Wallace University men's volleyball team had four student-athletes named to the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League All-Conference teams. Senior Academic All-MCVL outside hitter Michael Beard (Hilliard/Darby) and senior Academic All-MCVL setter Brandon Long (Hinckley/Metea Valley, Ill.) were named to the first team while junior middle hitter Reed Fisher (Freedom, Pa./Ambridge Area) was named to the second team and freshman outside hitter Owen Huynh (Loveland) earned honorable mention.
Beard, who earns his fourth career conference accolade, was named to the first team for the second year in a row. This season, he has appeared in 25 matches and 93 sets where he leads the team in kills and is seventh in the MCVL with 300. Beard currently averages a team-best 3.23 kills per set and has a hitting percentage of .243 on the season. He sits at fifth in the MCVL in service aces with 31, is second on the team in digs with 159, and has also posted 24 assists and 15 total blocks.
In his career, Beard holds the record for most kills in program history with 1,146 including his 1,000th career kill against Hiram College earlier this season. He is also the program's all-time digs and service aces leader with 592 and 125, respectively. Beard has recorded a total of 80 assists and 92 total blocks in his time in Berea. He is a three-time MCVL Offensive Player of the Week honoree, a former MCVL Defensive Player of the Week, and was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week on February 7, 2023. Beard was also named to the MCVL All-Tournament team last season.
Long, who earns his second straight first-team honor, has appeared in 20 matches and 75 sets this season. He has tallied the third-most assists in the MCVL with 757 and has averaged 10.09 assists per set: a mark that leads the MCVL and is fifth in all of Division III. Long is also third on the team in digs with 132 and fifth on the team in service aces with 14. He has also added 11 kills and 16 total blocks in 2024.
In his career, Long is the program's all-time assists leader with 3,089 total in his career including his 3,000th career assist against Fontbonne (Mo.) University earlier this season. He also sits at second on the all-time leaderboards in digs and service aces with a total of 505 and 92, respectively. Long has also added 93 blocks and 75 kills in his four years in the Brown and Gold. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 MCVL Tournament.
Fisher, who is in his first year of action for BW, earns his first career All-MCVL selection. He has appeared in 21 matches and 73 sets for the Yellow Jackets this season and leads the team with 43 total blocks including four block solos. Fisher is also tied for fifth on the team in kills with 104 and has a team-best hitting percentage of .405. He has also recorded seven digs, two service aces, and one assist this season. Fisher was named the MCVL Defensive Player of the Week on Mar. 4 earlier this season.
Huynh also earns his first MCVL honor after an outstanding freshman year. In his first season as a Yellow Jacket, he appeared in 20 matches and 67 sets where he currently sits at third on the team with 169 kills and second on the team in total blocks with 31 including a team-best eight block solos. Huynh has added 90 digs, which is fourth-most on the team, and is third on the team with 18 service aces. He also added six assists in his first collegiate season.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action tomorrow as they travel to Springfield to take on Trine (Ind.) University in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League Semifinals hosted by Wittenberg University at 4 p.m. in Pam Evans Smith Arena.
