ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team had two players named in the first edition of the Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) All-Conference awards list. Shaphar Grant earned first team honors, while Colby Landry was tagged with second team laurels.
Grant, a Kingston, Jamaica native, led Tusculum with a program-record .347 hitting percentage this season. The senior totaled 150 kills, five assists, 11 service aces, 32 digs, and 78 total blocks (21 solo, 57 assists) across 22 matches as a middle blocker. Grant will go down as the best net defender in program history. His 2023 total rejections are one off of his career high 79 last season, while his 0.95 blocks per set average shatters the current mark. Grant tops the program's list in hitting percentage (.275), service attempts (860), solo blocks (50), block assists (153), total blocks (203), points (571.5), sets played (263), and matched played (76). He also ranks second in kills (411), fourth in attempts (883), and fifth in aces (34).
Landry, a native of Belle Rose, Louisiana, is the lone Pioneer to see action in all 26 regular season matches. The junior played in 94 sets, tallying a career-best 281 kills, 14 assists, 28 aces, team-high 111 digs, and 13 total blocks (six solo, seven assists). The outside hitter's kill and ace total both rank second in single-season history for the young program, while his digs are good for fifth. Landry is the program's all-time leader in kills (483) and attempts (1,137). He is also second in aces (49), second in reception percentage (0.952), second in points (551.5), second in sets played (206), third in points per set (2.68), and fourth in digs (242).
Fourth-seeded Tusculum is set to begin the IVA Tournament against the No. 5 Maryville in the second match on Friday (Apr. 14), scheduled for 1:30 p.m. The winner plays top-seeded Lincoln Memorial at 7:30 p.m., while the loser plays in the fifth-place match on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
2023 IVA Volleyball All-Conference
First Team
Albert Warzocha, Limestone
Matthew Gentry, Lincoln Memorial
Kohl Kutsch, Lincoln Memorial
Matthew Pilch, Queens
Cole Campisano, Lincoln Memorial
Shaphar Grant, Tusculum
Shay Spadaro, Lincoln Memorial
Second Team
Colby Landry, Tusculum
Guillermo Jordan, Queens
Justin Sharfenaker, Lincoln Memorial
Nate Meyer, Missouri S&T
Cayden Marin, Limestone
Daniel Leitao, Queens
Jack Brinkman, Queens
Tate Colebaugh, Lincoln Memorial
Co-Offensive Players of the Year
Cole Campisano, Lincoln Memorial
Matthew Gentry, Lincoln Memorial
Co-Defensive Players of the Year
Kohl Kutsch, Lincoln Memorial
Guillermo Jordan, Queens
Freshman of the Year
Shay Spadero, Lincoln Memorial
Coach of the Year
John Cash, Lincoln Memorial
