Front row (left to right): Paul Gardner, Josue Ramirez, Alec Esparza, Brandon Anderson, Lukasz Kupiec, Jorge Pulido. Back row (left to right): Michael Wesley, Manny Benitez, Zach DeLoach, Wes Higginbotham, Adam Krzos, Alex Robles.

Lincoln College opens inaugural season for Men’s Volleyball

[January 15, 2015]  LINCOLN, IL —The Lincoln College Men's Volleyball team is set to begin their first season of competition under the leadership of head coach Mark Tippett.

Tippett has guided the Lady Lynx volleyball program since 2001. This will be his first season as coach of the new men's program. After a successful preseason experience during the fall semester, the team starts the season with away matches on January 22 and 24, and returns to the Lincoln Center on Tuesday, Jan. 27, for their first home match at 6:30 p.m. against Lindenwood-Belleville (NAIA DI).

Coach Tippett is looking forward to seeing the team in action.

"I am very pleased with the caliber of athletes I was able to recruit in for this team. We have skilled players at every position who have the experience and athleticism to make us a competitive team right away,” said Tippett.

The Lynx will be led defensively by libero Alec Esparza from Blue Island, Ill. Esparza was a standout at Eisenhower high School where he earned All-Conference and All-Area honors his senior year. Esparza is joined by Eisenhower teammate, setter Lukasz Kupiec (Alisp) who will guide the team's offensive attack. Kupiec will have a number of strong hitters to choose from including 6'4" leftside Adam Krzos (Lockport), 6'6" middle hitter Wes Higgenbotham (Plainfield), 6'4" leftside Alex Robles (Plainfield), and 6'7" rightside Zach DeLoach (St. Louis, Mo.).

"All of our players have experience playing organized high school and club volleyball," said Tippett. "They have been playing since junior high so we have not needed to spend much time on basic skills. This group was ready to play advanced volleyball right away."

Tippett began recruiting the team last spring, and then had to build a schedule.

"I was worried that we would have difficulty finding matches, but that has not turned out to be the case at all," said Tippett. "We have built a solid schedule that includes matches against NCAA teams, NAIA teams, and club teams from area universities."

Lincoln College Athletic Director Dave Klemm is also looking forward to the season.

“Men’s Volleyball is a sport that’s a little non-traditional for us, but it provides a new opportunity for Lincoln College students to be involved and continue as student athletes into their collegiate career. Coach Tippett is pretty excited to get his team on the court, and I believe it’s going to be an exciting team to watch,” said Klemm.

The Lynx have joined the Mid-West Plains Volleyball Conference (MWPVC) which includes club teams from colleges and universities throughout the Midwest. The spring 2015 schedule has the team competing in 13 matches and 5 tournaments throughout January, February and March. Home matches are scheduled for Jan. 27; Feb. 5, 10, and 12; and March 17 and 25. The complete schedule is available on the Lincoln College website: http://mvolleyball.lincolncollege.edu/schedule/.

[Tracy Bergin, Lincoln College]