After competing in the NECVA tournament for the first time in school history during the 2007 season, head coach Jade Brubaker and his Crimson Eagles are back and ready to vie for another tournament birth. Although the team lost NEAC all-conference performers Jathan Brubaker and Richie Sparling to graduation, the Crimson Eagles return a solid core of talented players that went 21-14 during last year’s historic run.

“We have an extremely young but talented team that has a lot of potential as a group,” commented Brubaker. “The overall makeup of this team will be much different from last season, but I’m looking forward to see how we come together and develop as a unit throughout the year.”

To say that the Crimson Eagles have a young team is probably somewhat of an understatement. Returning as the only fourth year veteran on the squad is senior Jason Boyda, who will help co-captain a group that returns just two full time starters from a year ago. Boyda put up solid numbers in limited action last year, finishing sixth on the team in attacking percentage (.139) and sixth in blocks a game (0.28).

Joining Boyda as the only other upperclassmen on the team is junior outside hitter Ben Fuller. Named Second Team All-NEAC in consecutive seasons, Fuller was second on the team in both kills (291) and digs (249) a year ago. The native of Leola, PA played in all but five games in 2007 and will need to generate similar numbers to last season for the Crimson Eagles to remain competitive in 2008.

The sophomore class is composed of five players, three of which are suiting up for the Crimson Eagles for the first time. Second-year outside hitter and NEAC Scholar Athlete Leandro Dueck will aid Boyda in captaining the youthful squad. Dueck was amongst the team leaders in nearly every statistical category a year ago, finishing third on the team in kills (239), second in attacking percentage (.182), second in assists (569), first in serving aces (50), first in digs (259), and second in total blocks (86).

The lone other sophomore returner is outside hitter Jeremy Keating who participated in 74 games during his first season. Keating enjoyed a relatively successful freshman campaign, finishing seventh on the team in both kills (65) and digs (96). Rounding out the sophomore class are newcomers Neil Welsford and Cory Ermold who will compete for time at the middle hitter position, as well as second-year defensive specialist Josh Hawn.  

The incoming class is by no means hurting for talent, as the squad brings in four athletes that should each have the opportunity to compete for significant playing time. Justin Brubaker and Bill Lukas will both look to make an immediate impact as outside hitters, Drew Dillon will need to play a huge role as the only setter on the team, and Jon Rose will contend for time amongst the middle hitters.

“Despite some of our key losses from a year ago in terms of personnel, I’m confident that some of our younger players will be able to step in and fill the gaps,” Brubaker noted in regards to the incoming class. “Although the collegiate level is obviously a step up from high school volleyball, several of our incoming freshmen experienced tremendous success on good high school teams which I thoroughly expect will help aid them in their transition.”

Aside from facing a tough non-conference schedule that includes several traditional powerhouses, the Crimson Eagles will once again face stiff competition amongst a strong Western Division during NECVA play. PBU was picked to finish fifth (out of nine teams) in the division in the annual pre-season coaches poll, while Nazareth College claimed the top spot after securing seven of nine first place votes. EMU and D'Youville College rounded out the top three with Medaille College placing fourth. Villa Julie finished sixth; Lancaster Bible seventh; SUNY Institute of Technology eighth; and Hilbert College ninth.

“The Western Division is once again solid from top to bottom this year,” noted Brubaker. “We’ll need to be at the top of our game each time we step on the court in order to remain competitive within divisional play.”

“But even with our young group, I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to compete at a high level this year to help set ourselves up to get back into the championship tournament. I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to do so.”