Head Coach: Michael Zile – 5th season (18th season total)
Assistant Coaches:
Dan Shuck – JV Head Coach
Chris Lewonka – Assistant Varsity
Thomas Ohanian – Assistant Varsity
Cat Martinez – Assistant JV
Bridget Pynn – Assistant JV
Sport: Volleyball (B)
Team Name: Liberty High School
League: East Penn Conference
2023 Record: 11-5
Key Players Lost:
Chastin Bullard – OPP
Tim Carnes – DS
Elden Campbell – MH
Matt Gonzalez – L
Kavon Johnson – MH
Lucas Manning-Lee – DS
Joel Morgan – OH
Jorge Talavera – DS
Khalife Wadlington – MH
Nathan Yelinko – OPP
Key Returning Players:
Bryce Fenstermaker – Senior, 6’0”, Opposite, 98 assists, 47 digs, 10 aces
Bryce was a setter and defensive specialist in 2023. He is a vocal leader and has emerged as a key hitter & blocker where he will be playing Opposite.
Weston Greer – Senior, 6’2”, Middle, 42 kills, 62 digs, 12 aces
Weston played a lot of valuable reps in 2023 at multiple positions. He has focused on playing Middle, will be a threat on offense, and knows how to set the block on defense.
Cristian Matos – Senior, 5’9”, Setter, 784 assists, 160 digs, 42 kills, 33 aces
Cristian was a 3rd team EPC All Star. He’s a great all around player and one of the top setters in league with knowing how to set all options on any given play.
Connor McLaughlin – Senior, 5’11”, Outside Hitter, 38 kills, 59 digs, 3 blocks, 2 aces
Connor had a season ending injury in 2023 after emerging as a starting OH. He has been recovering from a shoulder surgery since November and is expected to be back in April. Connor is eager to get back playing as he is a top serve receive passer, great defender, with great jumping ability.
Adam Mittl – Senior, 6’4”, Outside Hitter, 392 kills, 241 digs, 63 aces, 12 blocks
Adam is a returning All State player, 1st team EPC All Star, and was on the 2024 AVCA All America Watch List. Adam is 13 points away from 1,000 career points. He is a force at the net with his great jumping ability and fast arm swing and is well rounded with all skills.
Ethan Roan – Senior, 5’11”, Libero, 47 digs, 28 kills, 4 aces
Ethan is a versatile all around player that can play as an Outside Hitter and Libero. In 2023 he played both positions and in 2024 he has been focusing on playing Libero. He’s a great passer and overall floor defender.
Gavin Wachinski – Junior, 6’3, Middle
Gavin saw some Varsity action in 2023 and is being called upon to be a starting Middle in 2024. He’s got all of the tools to be a force at the net on offense and defense and has been showing it so far early on.
Frank Benedetto – Sophomore, 6’0”, Outside Hitter, 31 kills, 26 digs, 6 blocks, 1 ace
The 2023 team had 18 players competing on Varsity with 10 seniors and 7 seniors. Frank was brought over from JV early on and battled his way into a starting role towards the middle to end of the season. He’s a great overall athlete with great jumping ability, a strong arm, and passing skills. Frank is projected to be the starting Outside opposite of Adam in 2024.
Key Newcomers:
Angel Rivera – Senior, 5’7”, Outside Hitter
Danny King – Junior, 6’1”, Setter / DS
Keagan Dougherty – Sophomore, 6’2”, Middle / Opposite
Kadien Hannah-Mitchell – Sophomore, 6’4”, Middle
2024 Outlook: Our strengths will be that all of our starters have been playing together for the past 3 to four years. We had a lot of highly competitive practices with our roster of 18 on Varsity in 2023 where the players that are stepping in are primed and ready to go. The offense should be much improved in 2024 where we’ve got weapons all along the net.
The key like with any team is making sure that serving strikes that balance between being aggressive and consistent. We will need to keep working on that and the overall team defense in order to be a top contender.
