GREENVILLE, Pa. – After losing just one senior from a team that went 20-12 and rattled off a school-record eight consecutive wins a year ago, the Thiel men's volleyball team and fourth-year head coach Steve Brewer are poised to take the next step in 2014. The Tomcats and captains senior Corey Hamilton (Meadville, Pa./Maplewood) and juniors Michael Whitelock (Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley) and Dylan Lasher (Ford City, Pa./Elderton) lead a group that was recently picked to finish fourth in the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) in the conference's annual preseason poll.
 
The 2014 edition of the Tomcats features a bevy of well-tested upperclassmen, including one of the best setter tandems in the CVC, plus some first-year freshmen who figure to have an immediate impact. While the Tomcats will certainly miss three-time All-Conference honoree Dante McCoy (Reading, Pa./Holy Name), who graduated last spring, the 2014 squad is deeper, more balanced and "already a better team than we were a year ago," according to Brewer.
 
"Our strengths are experience, talent, athleticism and how well the guys get along with one another," said Brewer, who was instrumental in bringing a men's volleyball program to Thiel in 2011. "We have a well-balanced, well rounded team. We are good at everything and outstanding at some things. There's really nothing we don't do well."
 
Last year, the Tomcats used a late season surge in which they went 10-3 in their final 13 matches - including the aforementioned eight-match win streak, to secure the third and final seed in the East Division of the CVC Championship Tournament. And while the 2013 season ended sooner than the Tomcats wanted it to after a 3-1 loss to the second-seed Carthage College Redmen, the season saw the entire 15-man roster see court time a year ago.
 
"The experience of the guys that have been on the court for 200-plus sets will allow the program to continue to develop and set the stage for success this season," Brewer said.
 
Thiel finished at 20-12 overall and 4-4 in the CVC last spring, the most wins in the program's short history. Two of the Tomcats' wins came against teams ranked Nos. 3 and 11 nationally, with Thiel disposing of the 11^th-ranked Stevenson University Mustangs, 3-1 on March 9 and knocking off the third-ranked Juniata College Eagles, 3-1 on March 27.
 
Five starters and the libero from last year return in 2014, but it is possible some will get pushed out of the lineup. Nearly all of Thiel's roster from last year returns, save for McCoy and several backups.
 
"We have reliable players able to come off the bench at every position this year," said Brewer, who is aided by volunteer assistant student coaches Cameron Capp and Chris Lepley. "This team has more all-around skill and cohesion than any group I've had here. I believe we'll take a large step toward being in the national conversation."
 
It all starts with the setter and in 6-feet-1-inch Hamilton and 6-feet-1-inch junior Charlie Tindall (Tarentum, Pa./Deer Lakes), the Tomcats are led by perhaps one of the finest one-two punches in the CVC. In his third season starting for the Tomcats in 2013, Hamilton finished the season with 567 assists, 94 digs and eight service aces. Tindall, in his first year as an impact player in Brewer's offense, led Thiel in assists (632) and recorded 47 total blocks, 13 of which were solos. Freshman Zach Rombach will also figure in at the setter position.
 
Thiel has six seniors on its roster- Hamilton, 6-feet-5-inch Evan Proksell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area), 6-feet-3-inch Andrew Pohlod (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland), 5-feet-10-inch Corey Swarmer, 6-feet Kody Johnson (South Fork, Pa./Forest Hills) and 6-feet-4-inch Kyle Turkalj (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area) – each of whom should contribute significantly in 2014.
 
Proksell and 6-feet-7-inch Whitelock make up what Brewer says is the Tomcats most improved position at middle hitter. Proksell returns after registering 78 kills and finishing third on the team with 50 total blocks while Whitelock ended last season 13^th in all of NCAA Division III with a .99 blocks per set average. He also finished second in the CVC with a .394 hitting percentage.
John Turner (Cambridge Springs, Pa./Cambridge Springs), who is 6-feet-2-inches tall, will compete to start at opposite hitter. Turner started six matches last season while seeing action in 93 of Thiel's 115 sets, ending the season third on the team in kills (213) and seventh in the CVC with a .315 hitting percentage. Pohlod is one of Thiel's most versatile hitters, as he will start the season as an opposite but might also be used at outside hitter in 2014. Alex Ciepiela (Marilla, N.Y./Iroquios Central), who is 6-feet-3-inches tall, and freshman Regan Hess (Burlington, Wis./Wetosha Central) will also look to break into the mix at opposite.
 
At outside hitter, the Tomcats return Lasher, and welcome 6-feet-2-inch freshman Thad Paunovich (Avonmore, Pa./Kiski Area) to the mix. Lasher, a 6-feet-1-inch junior, had 198 kills and 210 digs in 105 sets last year. He also finished fifth in the CVC and first on the team with 27 service aces. Paunovich, a Kiski Area High School product, comes to the Tomcats after having played on Kiski's women's volleyball team for three seasons. After exhausting his options to play for a men's high school team and being relegated to playing only in the back row for his final two high school seasons, Paunovich will return to the front row as an outside hitter for the 2014 Tomcats.
 
Manning the libero position for Thiel will be 6-feet-1-inch junior Ian Phillips (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) and 5-feet-8-inch junior Colin Vitale (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour). Phillips appeared in 96 sets a season ago, leading the Tomcats with 254 digs. His 2.65 digs per set was the fifth highest total in the CVC in 2013. Vitale wasn't far behind, as he totaled 223 digs for a 2.10 digs per set average, the 10^th best total in the conference.
 
Thiel's annual Blue-Gold Match is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 13 at 8:30 p.m. at Beeghly Gymnasium. The Tomcats' regular season will kick off at home with a tri-match featuring Lakeland and Hilbert College on Jan. 19. The first match is scheduled to get underway at 11 a.m.