Set to debut the men’s club volleyball team on Feb. 2, head coach JJ Glavan has been working to prepare the twenty-one man roster for Division II play.

Glavan, also the assistant women’s volleyball coach, has thirteen years of previous volleyball coaching experience. The coach also played club volleyball as a middle hitter his senior year in high school in Colorado.

The former head coach, Cory Sackett, formed the roster before his departure to become the assistant director at Club 1 Volleyball Club. Because of this, Glavan said when he arrived his main objective was getting to know the players and evaluating them for their strengths and weaknesses.

“I knew Division II was where my heart was, I think they really protect the student-athletes,” Glavan said.

Glavan said correspondence with Julie Wiejak, women’s volleyball head coach, and Rick Costello, athletic director, allowed him to understand the university’s vision for the team.

“I knew this would be a great opportunity for me to build a program for the men’s and women’s team,” Glavan said.

He noted the difficulty of finding a balance between all of the players with their strengths and building the skills of all of the players.

“The team’s strengths are: we are a brand-new program; there is a lot of energy and the guys are excited to be a part of something new,” Glavan said.

The head coach is also leading the students to do community service for the community.

David Herrera, freshman health studies major, has been playing volleyball since 7th grade and joined the team once Sackett told him about the program.

Herrera said that the team has started practicing and that there a lot of improvements to be made, but he really enjoys working with his teammates. He also stated that he is excited for the season to begin.

Glavan has set goals for the team; he believes the members should be students first, athletes second.

“I want to see all my guys come here and graduate. Then, volleyball-wise, I want us to have a fun experience and for us to establish a culture here and to recruit other students,” Glavan said.

The team’s five opening matches at the Davenport Invite will take place on Feb. 2 and 3, followed by eight more during the GLMVC Play Date at Davenport Feb. 9-10. The team will end the season at home against St. Ambrose on Feb. 14, before wrapping up with a tournament on March 30 against Grand Valley State University and Davenport University.