We continue our series on First-Year players who have made an impact on their D3 Men’s Volleyball team in the 2025 season…
Ansel Waisler – Bard
Ansel Waisler, a 6′ 2″ OH from Venice, California has become the go-to attacker in his first season at Bard. He is getting set an average of 40 times per match for the Raptors who have improved to 3-3 on the season. Ansel has ripped 71 kills thus far on the short season while providing 9 aces, 34 digs, and 7 total blocks. He leads the team in kills and attempts and has a best in class .974 serve receive percentage. Waisler and other young members of the Raptors, like Sidney Stein and Pearse Esposito, will try to ignite a team that has not had a winning record since 2011.
Christopher Wong – SUNY Potsdam
6′ 5″ MB Christoper Wong from Elmont, NY has already put back a remarkable 26 total blocks this season after just 6 matches for the Bears of SUNY Potsdam. Potsdam has been steadily improving since launching their program in 2020 with the last two seasons at the 17-win mark. Chris has started to find his groove while competing for minutes with Mike and Matt Kilinski, the 6’7 brother combination at Potsdam. Chris has 33 kills and is hitting .304 in his first season.
Luke Rohrbach – Westminster
Luke Rohrback of St. Louis, MO has been a defensive wall for the Westminster Blue Jays so far this season. The 6′ 6″ freshman middle has 52 total blocks in just 37 sets on a Westminster team that has showed they can be competitive with some very solid opponents. For a first-year program to open up at 7-5 is a major accomplishment and Luke is part of the equation.
Trystan Maloney – Lasell
Trystan Maloney has been outstanding thus far for the Lasell Lasers, averaging close to 10 assists per set and playmaking for a team consistently ranked in the IH top 15 all season. he has gelled perfectly with the Laser big hitters driving them to a 9-1 record, with their only blemish a hard-fought loss to Hobart.
Liam Robertson – UW-Steven’s Point
Liam Robertson of University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point has been a consistent presence on the back line for the Pointers. Liam is averaging over 3 digs per set and has played in every set for UWSP this season. His .962 serve receive efficiency has been excellent as well. The Pointers are currently 7-3 and well positioned to finish a great season after a respectable 10-8 initial start for their program in 2024,
Shawn Zheng – Vassar
Shawn Zheng, 6′ 7″ from Littleton, CO that has stepped in his initial season and performed exceptionally well for Vassar. The freshman has just 8 hitting errors in 8 matches, hitting .416 overall with 50 kills. The Brewers remain undefeated at 8-0 and are considered part of the D3 elite with SVU, NYU, and Stevens,
