Men's Volleyball | 4/10/2025 1:55:56 PM
Nazareth University graduate student Owen Wickens was named Empire 8 Player of the Year for the fourth time, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2025 Men’s Volleyball All-Conference awards on Thursday, April 10. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Wickens, who was previously the 2023 Empire 8 Player of the Year, 2022 and 2024 Empire 8 Co-Player of the Year and 2021 Rookie of the Year, is enjoying another tremendous season in 2025 for the Golden Flyers who were crowned league champions. He is averaging 3.13 kills and 4.00 points per set. He is third nationally, averaging with 0.67 service aces per set. Wickens also leads the Golden Flyers with 226 digs to go along with 158 assists and 35 blocks. He was a two-time Empire 8 Player of the Week in 2025 and is the Division III active leader with 305 service aces and is sixth among active student-athletes with 1,471 kills.
Trace La Robardiere of St. John Fisher and of Thomas McNulty of SUNY Poly shred E8 Co-Libero/Defensive Player of the Year honors. La Robardiere earned his second straight honor, having recorded 270 digs and is second with 2.57 digs per set. He has recorded at least 10 digs in a match 12 times in 2025. McNulty leads all E8 student-athletes with 317 digs and 3.02 digs per set, which is among the national leaders. He has recorded at least 10 digs in a match 19 times in 2025, including matches of 22 and 21 digs, respectively.
Elmira College middle blocker Paten Buckwalter earned 2025 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year honors. Buckwalter, a six-time Empire 8 Rookie of the Week, hit .359 on the season with 155 kills to go along with 37 blocks. He hit over .500 in a match nine times this season.
The Nazareth coaching staff, led by head coach Cal Wickens and assistant coaches Eben Meyer and Dave Wethers, was named the 2025 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. The Golden Flyers are currently ranked 15th nationally with an 18-10 overall record and claimed the E8 title with a perfect 5-0 mark in league play.
Wickens garnered All-Empire 8 first team accolades for the fifth time in his illustrious career, tying an Empire 8 record, the St. John Fisher duo of middle blockers Griffin Stella, who leads the country in hitting percentage and Ian Rauh are repeat first team selections. Elmira graduate student Jordan Peiser, an outside hitter, Dylan Fox, the 2024 E8 Co-Rookie of the Year from Russell Sage and Nazareth senior Andrew Bodensteiner rounded out the E8 first team selections.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2025 Men's Volleyball Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
2025 Empire 8 Men’s Volleyball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Owen Wickens, Gr., OH/L, Nazareth
Co-Libero/Defensive Player of the Year: Trace La Robardiere, Jr., L/DS, St. John Fisher
Co-Libero/Defensive Player of the Year: Thomas McNulty, Jr., L/DS, SUNY Poly
Rookie of the Year: Paten Buckwalter, Fr., MB, Elmira
Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth, led by Head Coach Cal Wickens
Empire 8 First Team
Jordan Peiser, Gr., OH/RS, Elmira (Great Neck, NY/Great Neck)
Andrew Bodensteiner, Sr., MB, Nazareth (Rochester, NY/Spencerport)
Owen Wickens, Gr., OH/L, Nazareth (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit)
Dylan Fox, Fr., OH, Russell Sage (Albany, NY/Colonie Central)
Griffin Stella, Gr., MB, St. John Fisher (Churchville, NY/Churchville-Chili)
Ian Rauh, Sr., MB, St. John Fisher (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park)
Empire 8 Second Team
Max Cohen, Sr., S, Elmira (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa)
Alex Bertino, Sr., OH/L, Nazareth (Rochester, NY/Spencerport)
Josh Weaver, Sr., S/RS, Nazareth (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Peter Gottler, Jr., RS, SUNY Poly (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute)
Casey Jackson, Jr., OH, St. John Fisher (Rochester, NY/Spencerport)
Sonepith Keoviengsamay, So., OH, St. John Fisher (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy)
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Cache Littrell, So., RS/DS, Elmira (Uintah, UT/Bonneville)
Thomas McGlynn, Jr., RS, Houghton (Brockville, Ontario/Ange-Gabriel)
Anthony Caimano, Sr., MB, Nazareth (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool)
Brendan Palmer, Sr., L/DS, SUNY Poly (Rush, NY/Rush-Henrietta)
Sean O’Brien, Fr., S, Russell Sage (Unionville, CT/Farmington)
Connor Holmes, So., MB, St. John Fisher (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg)
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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