By: MADISON MCCARTHY / STAFF WRITER
On May 13, 2021, LIU Athletics announced the addition of Men’s Volleyball to its 35 athletic teams across the Post and Brooklyn campuses.
The men’s volleyball team, based out of the Brooklyn campus, will be led by head coach Shawn Patchell and is set to begin its first inaugural season in January 2022.
“I just think competing is so fun,” Patchell said. “Practice is fun, but when you actually get to put on the uniform and play the inaugural match — I’m really excited for that.”
Patchell, a former collegiate and professional volleyball player himself, joins LIU after serving as the head coach for multiple collegiate institutions, most recently at Concordia University Irvine from 2013-2021. With extensive experience coaching collegiate athletes, as well as involvement with club and USA Volleyball, Patchell is working to continue building up his team here in Brooklyn.
“We have been figuring it out as we go. We’ve been practicing and keeping our heads down," Patchell said.
The current team consists of seven freshmen and five older members with previous experience.
Jordan Cooper, a junior from California, is looking forward to beginning the season and taking on a leadership role on the team.
“It's exciting. It’s one of the main reasons I came here: I get to build something, I get to build the team. Because I’m a junior I can take the role of leading the team,” Cooper said.
With a balance of older and younger players, Patchell expressed his gratitude for having such a well balanced team before their first season had even begun.
“I feel very fortunate that we got the players we did — we have some wonderful players and we’re looking at adding four more players for January,” Patchell said.
As the LIU Men’s Volleyball team gears up for its first competition in January, the Northeast Conference (NEC) has also decided to add Men’s Volleyball starting in 2023.
In a statement released by the NEC, Commissioner Noreen Morris said, "We are thrilled to announce the addition of men's volleyball as the 25th sport sponsored by the Northeast Conference.”
LIU Men’s Volleyball will be part of the Northeast Conference along with Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island University, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, and Saint Francis University.
While the Sharks will begin playing in January 2022, the inaugural NEC championship will be held in 2023.
The LIU Men's Volleyball team's first competition is on January 15, 2021 against D'Youville College at the Steinberg Wellness Center on campus.
For more on Men’s Volleyball, visit LIUathletics.com and follow @liumvolleyball on Instagram.