INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced Thursday it will start sponsoring men’s volleyball as its 25th sport, beginning in the 2025-26 academic year.
The inaugural season of GLVC men’s volleyball will feature seven institutions, including full-time league members Maryville University, Missouri S&T, Quincy University, Rockhurst University, and Southwest Baptist University, as well as associate members Roosevelt University and Thomas More University. Thomas More was approved for associate membership status in October 2023, while Roosevelt was approved in May 2024.
Maryville and S&T have been competing independently since starting their programs in 2022 and 2023, respectively, while Rockhurst and Southwest Baptist will respectively begin sponsoring the sport in 2024-25 and 2025-26. Quincy has been competing under the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) banner since starting its program in 1994, while Roosevelt and Thomas More are in the reclassification process from NAIA to NCAA Division II but have respectively had a men’s volleyball program since 2016-17 and 2019-20.
Maryville has gone 51-37 over the last three seasons since the program’s first year of competition in 2022, including advancing to the third-place match in the Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Tournament in 2023. Mike Haston has served as the head coach since the program began.
Missouri S&T has two seasons under its belt with a 12-9 mark in 2023 and 10-12 record in 2024, being mentored this past year by first-year head coach Ryan Thompson.
Quincy has accumulated a 326-545 record over the last 30 seasons. Devin Walker, who has been serving as an assistant coach for the Hawks the past two seasons, will take over the program this year as the head coach.
Rockhurst will be led into its inaugural season this year by Corey Marks after he was hired a year ago as the first head coach for the Hawks. With prior stints at Florida International University, Johnson & Wales University, and Eastern Nazarene College, he was also recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association with the inaugural Thirty Under 30 Beach Award in April 2021.
Southwest Baptist just announced in May that it will begin sponsoring the sport and hired its first head coach this month, as Pono Yin will lead the Bearcats in its inaugural season next year. Yin comes to SBU from Winthrop University with prior stops at Lee’s McCrae University, Drake University, and his alma mater Graceland University where he was a member of the volleyball team from 2004-09.
Roosevelt is located in Chicago, Ill., and has gone 18-67 over the last four seasons since absorbing the Robert Morris University Illinois athletic program in 2020-21. The Lakers have steadily improved over that time from a 0-20 mark in 2022 to a 9-17 record in 2024. Kelly Magliano is entering her fourth year at the helm in 2024-25.
Thomas More is located in Crestview Hills, Ky., and has compiled a 51-94 overall record the last five seasons, including the shortened COVID year in 2020, with more recent success the past two seasons, going 13-13 in 2023 and 16-12 in 2024 for the Saints’ first winning campaign with an appearance in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The program is currently in the midst of a search for its next head coach.
The inaugural GLVC Men’s Volleyball Championship Tournament will take place April 23-25, 2026, as a four-team, single-elimination format at a site yet to be determined.
For more information on GLVC men’s volleyball, stay tuned online at GLVCsports.com and social media (@GLVCsports; #GLVCmvb) throughout the coming years.