Chris KempMen’s volleyball may not be the first thing that comes to mind as far as sports go at UW-Eau Claire, but the men’s club volleyball team has had a very successful season, freshman Justin Wilke said.
The team played most of the year ranked second in the country but finished fifth at nationals, receiving the second seed out of 48 schools in the Div. II tournament.
The team will lose six of their nine players next season. All six players, including sophomore Mark Siegel, were major contributors to the team, Wilke said.
“We are fortunate to have a very good setter on the B team, sophomore David Radowski, that has the talent to be on the A team,” Wilke said.
A highlight for the team this season was its trip to Las Vegas.
“The Las Vegas trip was an invite by a coordinator in the west coast,” coach Ron Martin said. “Twelve of the best teams from the west coast were initially invited, but they opened it up to teams around the U.S.”
Junior Tim Larson, Wilke and senior Chad Lang will be returning for next season. Wilke and Larson will lead the offense, and Lange will anchor the defensive end.
“Next season will be all about reloading,” Martin said. “I’ve coached for a lot of years, and you never have to rebuild, just reload. You need to find people to fit those spots that you lost, find people to step into those shoes. You can’t replace those guys, you find personnel that can keep up the caliber that Eau Claire has a reputation for.”
With a lot of their main players leaving the team, a lot of the B team players will have to step up to the A team positions.
“I’d say it’s realistic to say we could win our conference,” Wilke said, “and have a good showing at nationals.”
