Atlanta, Georgia-With the 2023 men's volleyball season just around the corner, the SIAC released its preseason order of finish and all-conference teams. Fresh off of a Co-SIAC regular season championship as well as a runner-up finish in the inaugural SIAC Men's Volleyball Championship last season, the Tigers were selected as the preseason #1 team in the conference. Additionally, EWU had three players selected to the preseason All-SIAC team with outside hitter Evens Edouard and middle blocker Joelvi Jimenez receiving First Team All-Conference honors, while outside hitter Kaelen Ingram was named Second Team All-SIAC.

Last season, the Purple & Orange finished 12-19 overall and 9-1 against conference competition, sharing the regular season crown with eventual tournament champion, Central State. The Tigers were one of six SIAC member schools who made history last season as the first HBCU's to compete in the sport of Men's Volleyball. Joining the Tigers on the floor last year were Central State, Fort Valley State, Morehouse, Kentucky State, and Benedict. 

Edward Waters led the conference in hitting percentage at .235 and assists at 9.51 assists per set.

Appearing in 107 sets last year, Evens Edouard was been a major offensive catalyst for the Tigers. The Punta Cana, Domincan Republic native led the Purple & Orange in total kills with 351, kills per set with 3.28, service aces with 48, and service aces per set at 0.46. Edouard was also second on the team in digs with 141 and in digs per set at 1.37

Joelvi Jimenez was a proverbial a wall for Edward Waters in 2023, leading the Tigers on the defensive side of the floor. The native of Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic had a team high 86 total blocks, and averaged 0.85 blocks per set, another team high. Offensively, Jimenez had 103 total kills which was fourth on the team last season.

Ingram was been an all-around player for Edward Waters in 2022, getting the job done on both sides of the floor. The Belize City, Belize native and team co-captain was second on the squad with 261 total kills, while averaging 2.78 kills per set. Ingram was also fourth on the team in digs with 129 and fourth in total blocks with 32.

New head coach Lauren Ford and the Tigers will open their 2023 season on Friday, January 27th in a tri-match against Cumberland University and Limestone University in Gaffney, South Carolina.

2023 SIAC Men's Volleyball Preseason Ranking

1.     Edward Waters

2.     Central State

3.     Benedict

4.     Fort Valley State

5.     Kentucky State

6.     Morehouse

Superlative Awards

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year	Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Ras Jesse Delancy, Benedict	Clint Forbes, Benedict

  

2023 Men's Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team

First Team
Ras Jesse Delancy*	Outside Hitter	Benedict	Junior	Nassau, Bahamas
Evens Edouard*	Outside Hitter	Edward Waters	Sophomore	Punta Cana, D.R.
Cameron Lee*	Outside Hitter	Central State	Sophomore	Edmond, OK
Joelvi Jimenez*	Middle Hitter	Edward Waters	Sophomore	Santo Domingo, D.R.
D'Aaron McCraney*	Middle Hitter	Central State	Sophomore	Las Vegas, NV
Victor Scherer*	Libero	Central State	Sophomore	Porto Alegve, Brazil
Marcus Franck*	Setter	Central State	Sophomore	Congonhas, Brazil

 

Second Team
Oshane Farquharson*	Outside Hitter	Fort Valley State	Sophomore	Hollywood, Fla.
Kaelen Ingram*	Outside Hitter	Edward Waters	Sophomore	Belize City, Belize
Jordan Howard*	Outside Hitter	Kentucky State	Sophomore	Chesapeake, Virginia
Rashaun Wright	Middle Hitter	Fort Valley State	Sophomore	D'Abadie, Trinidad & Tobago
Donovan Wilmott*	Middle Hitter	Benedict	Senior	Nassau, Bahamas
Clint Forbes*	Libero	Benedict	Sophomore	Nassau, Bahamas
Justin Yates*	Setter	Fort Valley State	Sophomore	Carlsbad, California

*2022 SIAC All-Conference Honoree

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