Tigers Picked To Finish Second In MCVL Preseason Poll
Springfield, Ohio - Coming off back-to-back regular season Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) championships, the Wittenberg men's volleyball team was picked to finish second in the 2025 title chase in a preseason poll.
Baldwin Wallace was picked to finish first in the poll, which is based on ballots submitted by the league's coaches. The Yellow Jackets received five first-place votes and accumulated 61 total points in the balloting. Wittenberg received three first-place votes and totaled 57 points, followed by Mount Union with one first-place vote and 49 total points. Trine, the defending MCVL Tournament champion, rounded out the top four vote-getters with 40 total points.
Led by Head Coach Nathan Matthews, Wittenberg Class of 2019 and the two-time MCVL Coach of the Year (2023 and 2024), the Tigers head into the new season with a great deal of optimism. Wittenberg returns a trio of all-conference honorees to power what is expected to be a high-powered offense again in 2025. Junior outside hitter Michael Yurk (Indianapolis, IN / Bishop Chatard) earned first-team All-MCVL and MCVL All-Tournament Team a year ago, while junior outside hitter Eli Halverson (Hamilton, OH / Badin) bounced back from early season injuries to earn second-team All-MCVL and MCVL All-Tournament Team honors in 2024. In addition, sophomore middle hitter Reese Monnin (Xenia, OH / Carroll) is back after earning second-team All-MCVL and the league's Newcomer of the Year award in 2024.