PITTSFORD, N.Y. - The St. John Fisher College men's volleyball team is set to begin its inaugural 2018 season on Friday, January 19th as it hosts Bard College, D'Youville College, Endicott College and Wilkes University in the first-ever Cardinal Classic inside the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Athletic Center. The 2018 team marks the first time in the College's history that men's volleyball will compete at the NCAA Division III level.  Fisher will take part in 30 matches overall with 10 contests taking place at home.  The Cardinals will host two tournaments in their inaugural campaign including the Fisher Invite, which takes place March 16-17 and features Baruch, Elmira and Hiram. 
 
Head coach Kelly Greapentrog has been the head coach for the Fisher's women's volleyball program for the past eight years.  In that stretch, she has accumulated 137 victories and most recently led the Cardinals to their highest winning percentage (.750) since 1993 with a 22-9 record in 2017.  Greapentrog, who has guided the women's program to back-to-back postseason appearances, is looking forward to expanding Fisher's involvement with one of the country's fastest growing sports.
 
"I'm very excited to see this long journey we've been on finally come to fruition," she added.  "I'm thrilled for the men who have taken a leap of faith and joined this program in its infancy and I am really proud of the culture and environment that we have begun to create."
 
Associate head coach Stephen England, who joined the staff when the team was announced in 2016, looks to help lead the program after spending four seasons at Elmira College where he served as head coach for the men's team and assistant for the women's team.
 
"We are so fortunate to have Steve taking the lead with the men's program," commented Greapentrog, who coached the reigning Empire 8 Co-Player of the Year and Academic All-American in senior Anna Marcy.  "I am excited to see what the future has in store for us."
 
England, who helped coach Elmira to new heights during his stint on the sidelines, understands that building a culture helps to establish a solid footing for success in the long haul.
 
"My expectations for our first year is that we create a solid cultural foundation, based on a positive and competitive learning environment.  I expect everyone in the program to push themselves to improve every day.  If we can maintain a level of focus on doing simple things for long periods of time we will be successful."
 
With the addition of men's volleyball, St. John Fisher now boasts 24 intercollegiate varsity sports and England is eager to see where the program can go.
 
"I am looking forward to witnessing the growth we make as a program over the course of the season," said England   "We have a great group of student-athletes and staff that understand how special it is to build something from nothing."
 
Since the announcement of the sport's addition, both Greapentrog and England have been busy building the Cardinals' inaugural roster as the team will boast 18 players in all including eight freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors, four seniors, and two graduate students.  Avery Terroso, Brandon Cox-Bagley, Paul Hackford, Tyler Richards, David Cerqua, Mike Rizzo, Ben De La Cruz, Max Thurston, Justin Prichard, Matt Broderick, Kevin Cahil, Quinn Magiera, Joe Kenney, Patrick Kettle, Tristan Rapp, Garrett Steiger, Lawrence Bean and Mike Strumpfler are each set to don the Cardinal and Gold in 2018.  
 
Hackford, who is a highly touted freshman setter from Orchard Park, is more than ready to get the season underway.
 
"I can't wait to play the first game," stated Hackford, who stands at 6'5".  "Despite being a first year program, we have a lot of talent and I'm excited to compete against some of the nation's top teams."
 
Hackford goes on to add that "through all of the diversity, comes one of the funniest group of guys you will ever see on the court.  The team dynamic is full of energy.  Whether learning more about the game, making everyone laugh, or chanting names on the sideline, our team will always have the energy and the drive to play harder." 
 
Kenney, who is a senior on the squad, is exhilarated to have a men's volleyball program finally come to campus.
 
"I think the team adds a good counterpart to the women's team and there's a lot of excitement on campus as the season approaches."
 
Fisher's program will join the 77 other NCAA Division III men's programs around the country. The Cardinals will play in the very competitive United Volleyball Conference that currently boasts five teams in the nation's top 15 according to the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.  The conference is made up of 10 schools including Nazareth, Bard College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stevens, Elmira, SUNY New Paltz, New York University, Sage, and Vassar College.
 
The Cardinals will get the season started on January 19 when they host the Cardinals Classic.  Fisher, along with four other teams, will compete over two days with the Cardinals taking on Bard College, Wilkes University, D'Youville College and Endicott College.

From there, the team heads to Hiram, Ohio on January 26th to battle Wittenberg before dueling both Penn State Behrend and Hiram College the following afternoon.

On Saturday, February 3rd, Fisher will return to home for a pair of matches against D'Youville and SUNY Poly in Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium before heading to Cambridge, Mass. the following weekend in what will mark the program's first conference matches.  On February 10th, Fisher plays Vassar College and faces Massachusetts Institute of Technology on February 11th.

Five days later, the Cardinals make their way to Nazareth College to square off with Lasell College and Medaille and continue play inside Kidera Gymnasium the next afternoon against Wells College and Cal Lutheran.

On February 23rd, the Cardinals travel to Keuka for a non-conference match and continue play on the road on March 10th and 11th against New Paltz and Sage, respectively, in a pair of United Volleyball Conference showdowns.

Fisher will host its second tournament beginning March 16th when Nazareth, Baruch, Hiram and Elmira all make their way to Pittsford.  On the 16th, Fisher will clash with both Hiram and Baruch before closing out the Fisher Tournament against Nazareth on March 17th.

One week later, the Cardinals will host back-to-back UVC games in Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium against Elmira and Bard before facing Stevens Institute of Technology and New York University the following weekend with Nazareth serving as the host institution. 

Fisher will close out the regular season with four more road matches beginning with Medaille on April 3rd and Elmira on April 6th.  The Cardinals have one final tune-up on April 7th as they travel to Huntingdon, Pa. to battle Penn State Behrend and Juniata.

The UVC Conference Championship is set to begin April 13th.

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