CHICAGO.—The 2020 campaign is approaching for the Illinois Institute of Technology men's volleyball team, who will get started on Saturday, January 25 at #6 Carthage College. (1:00 p.m.) The Scarlet Hawks will embark on 10 opponents who found themselves either ranked or received votes on the 2020 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Men's Division III Preseason Poll, but head coach Mark Johnston embraces the challenge.
"I think that will prepare us really well for when we begin playing conference matches," said Johnston. "Three of those opponents are conference teams and the other seven are strong teams. I want to play the best because you have to play the best to be the best. The high level of competition is only going to make us better."
#6 Benedictine, (RV) Dominican and (RV) MSOE make up those three NACC squads on the Preseason Poll while #4 Endicott, #5 Carthage, #8 UC Santa Cruz, #12 Elms, (RV) North Central, (RV) Wentworth and (RV) MIT round out the remaining squads.
The Scarlet Hawks' 18-man roster will consist of seven returners and 11 newcomers. The blend of veteran bodies with first-year players poses promising prospects for present and future aspirations.
"Right now we are returning five-of-seven starters we had from last season," said Johnston. "We got a bunch of young guys who've battled hard throughout preseason for the other two positions which has been fun and rewarding to see play out. With a roster of 18, there is a lot of competition in the gym and its shown in our scrimmages."
Senior libero Derek Bostick, junior middle hitter Easton Kays, junior right-side Andriy Bench, senior middle hitter Evan Robeck and sophomore right-side Michal Markevych make up those five returning starters. Junior outside hitter Mihailo Djuric and senior right side Hani Salameh round out the seven returners.
Jack Bovone, Grant Couper, Patrick Dunne, Tyler Ford, Christopher Guillermo, Michael Sherwood, David Singer and Vincent Trosky make up the freshmen on the 2020 Scarlet Hawks roster. Sophomore Justin Kim, senior Jannik Birkholz, and junior Roman Sydorchuk will also embark on their first season with the IIT men's volleyball program.