CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (MCVL.org) – The Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) has officially added The University of Mount Union Purple Raiders to the fold for the 2019-20 academic year.
Mount Union joins Adrian College, Fontbonne University, Mount Saint Joseph's University, Olivet College and Trine University, all of which will make up the six-team MCVL membership for the 2020 season.
"The MCVL offers us great competition with teams from around our region and the opportunity to compete for a championship," remarked second-year Mount Union head coach Matt Mihelic.
In their first season of official competition, the Purple Raiders won eight games against a schedule of strong, predominantly East Coast men's volleyball programs.
"We are proud to announce the granting of MCVL membership to the University of Mount Union," MCVL Commissioner Chuck Yrigoyen said. "I know how excited Matt Mihelic and Mount Union are about their program. The Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League has gone through several membership changes the last few years, but the league's strength has remained constant. Men's volleyball continues to have a consistent growth pattern in NCAA Division III, which is a great thing for our league and for the sport."
In 2020, the MCVL will feature a home-and-home series for each program with each side playing 10 conference contests. From the regular season standings, the top-4 teams will then qualify for the MCVL Tournament on April 10-11 at the site of the regular season No. 1 seed. The tournament champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship on April 24-25 in Dubuque, Iowa.
Mount Union begins its MCVL slate on Friday, Jan. 20, 2020 with a 7 p.m. tilt against Olivet.