MVB Season Recap: 2023 marks season of growth & improvement for second year Marauder volleyball program


WILBERFORCE, Ohio - Competing in its second year as an NCAA program, the Central State University experienced a season of growth and overall improvement.



WIN-LOSS RECORD

CSU, who began the 2022 campaign with an 0-10 mark without winning a set, opened the 2023 season with its first victory in the third match of the season over Erskine to spark a three-match win streak. CSU also took a set against national power Penn State and remained competitive against nationally ranked programs such as Charleston, Ball State and Ohio State. Under new coach Anitra Brockman, the Marauders finished the season with a 17-15 overall mark which was an improvement from 2022's 14-13 record.



STATISTICAL IMPROVEMENTS

The Central State Marauders combined to improve in nearly every statistical category from a season ago. The numbers look like this:
 

	2022	2023
Total Kills	1020	1243
Kills/Set	10.6	11.3
Hitting Percentage	.189	.222
Total Assists	941	1139
Assists/Set	9.8	10.4
Total Digs	760	1130
Digs/Set	7.9	10.3
Total Blocks	156.5	188
Blocks/Set	1.6	1.7

REMAINING AN SIAC POWER

After winning the SIAC's inaugural championship, CSU maintained its place as one of the top SIAC and HBCU program in the country. CSU finished second in the conference with an 8-2 overall record while making the SIAC finals for the second straight year against Edward Waters.



INDIVIDUAL HONORS & ACHIEVEMENTS

CSU student-athletes earned numerous awards and accolades through the 2023 season. Victor Scherer, Cameron Lee and D'Aaron McCraney were each named to the All-SIAC First Team for the second straight season. Scherer also earned SIAC Libero of the Year honors for the second time after leading all NCAA players in digs and digs per set. Scherer also earned Off The Block's National Player of the Night on four occasions and SIAC Defensive Player of the Week five times.

Lee, who led CSU in kills and kills per set, earned three SIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. McCraney, who led the SIAC in hitting percentage and ranked No. 14 in the nation, earned SIAC weekly honors three times throughout the season.



ABOUT CENTRAL STATE MEN'S VOLLEYBALL

The Central State men's volleyball program competes as a member of the SIAC under NCAA rules and regulations. The program was officially added to CSU's NCAA-sponsored sports in 2022. As one of six HBCUs (historically black colleges & universities) to sponsor the sport of men's volleyball, CSU has solidified itself as one of the top programs in the SIAC with regular season and post season titles in 2022 and a SIAC Runner-Up finish in 2023. CSU is currently led by head coach Anitra Brockman. The program was recently featured in Match Point 2.0's documentary titled The Rise of HBCU Volleyball.