SANTA BARBARA, Ca.  --  Men's Volleyball is set to begin their third season of competition today at the Asics Invitational hosted by University of California - Santa Barbara. The Miners will face UCSB, California State - Northridge, and University of California - Irvine over the next three days as part of the invitational.

About the Gauchos
UCSB went 9-18 last season and 2-8 in conference as part of the Big West. They had a difficult schedule, with 20 of their 27 opponents being ranked. The achieved ranked wins over #2 UCLA, #14 CSUN, #19 UC San Diego and #20 George Mason.

The Gauchos are returning 10 members from the 2024 squad, including starters Geste Bianchi, Jack Walmer, Josh Aruya, Ben Coordt, Sam Meister, Owen Loncar, and Owen Birg. This will be their second consecutive year hosting the Asics Invitational. Bianchi is the headliner of the group, having led all of NCAA in kills per set last season with 4.82 per set.

About the Matadors
CSUN enters the season ranked 15th on the AVCA poll. The Matadors went 13-16, making it to the second round of the Outrigger Big West Championship before falling to #1 Long Beach State. They had ranked wins over #2 Hawaii, #3 UC Irvine, #4 Stanford, and #11 USC.

The Matadors welcome back 13 members from last season. They graduated their biggest contributor from last season in Kyle Hobus who was 10th in the nation in points per set.

About the Anteaters
UC Irvine is the highest ranked of the competitors at the Asics Invitational, ranking #3 in the nation's AVCA poll. The Anteaters had a successful 2024 campaign, going 20-11 before falling in the second round of the NCAA Championship to the UCLA Bruins.

Irvine has 11 returners from 2024, but are still a young team with only 5 athletes in the Junior and Senior classes.

About the Miners
In their last season before the GLVC adopts Men's Volleyball as an official sport, the Miners look to make a splash with almost a full ensemble returning from last season. They went 10-12 last season, but are primed to improve upon that in their 2025 campaign.

Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) and Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd) are expected to lead the team in attacking again, with both having ranked in the top 50 nationally last season. Caleb Rohlwing (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and Tyler Johnwick (Lombard, IL/Glenbard East) should prove to be formidable forces at the net again this year after combining for 94 blocks last season. Rohlwing ranked 19th in the nation for blocks per set and was tied for the 5th most solo blocks with seventeen. Finally, Grant Edmonds (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison) is set to serve as the team's primary setter after recording 598 assists last year, ranked 31st in the nation for assists per game.

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