May 01, 2024

Sahlmann named Coach of the Year headlining Men’s Volleyball All-GPAC selections

Posted May 01, 2024 2:27 PM

Kansas Wesleyan head coach Dustin Sahlmann was named as a Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Co-Coach-of-the-Year headlining KWU's 2024 list of All-GPAC selections in men's volleyball in Wesleyan's final season as a member of the conference for men's volleyball.

KWU also had its first-ever First Team All-GPAC selection, and the highest total of All-GPAC selections in program history in 2024 with six.

In just his second season, Sahlmann led the Coyotes to new program heights. KWU finished with its first-ever winning season with a 14-13 record. KWU finished 4-6 in the GPAC, and was the No. 4 seed, hosting the program's first-ever GPAC playoff game, and picked up the first-ever postseason win for the Coyotes.

Zayin Martinez was named to the All-GPAC first-team. Justin Burras, Jeremy Lapeze and Viet Nguyen were named to the second-team. Tyler McUne and Kahlib Lawrence were named to the honorable-mention team.

Martinez became KWU's first-ever first-team selection. He averaged 2.73 kills per set on the season as a freshman for the Coyotes. He also had a .298 attack percentage during the season, and scored 3.1 points per set. He ranked seventh in the GPAC in kills per set and second in attack percentage.

Burras was a repeat second-team selection from a year ago. He averaged 2.3 kills per set which ranked ninth in the GPAC this season and had a .209 attack percentage that ranked seventh in the GPAC. He had 26 service aces on the season, which ranked second in the GPAC.

Lapeze is a repeat selection from last season, earning honorable-mention honors last year as well. Lapeze led the GPAC in digs per set at 3.24 per set, and had 275 digs, the second highest total in the GPAC this year.

Nguyen was also a repeat second-team selection and KWU's only three-time All-GPAC pick, earning honorable-honors in his first year as a Coyote. Nguyen ranked 12th in the GPAC in kills per set at 1.93 and 10th in the conference in attack percentage. He ranked ninth in the conference in blocks per set at .67.

McUne was an honorable-mention selection in his first season with the Coyotes. He ranked third in the GPAC in assists per set, averaging 7.07, as the Coyotes changed offenses in different matches from a 5-1 to a 6-2. He also averaged 1.83 digs per set and had 19 aces that ranked 11th in the GPAC.

Lawrence is a repeat honorable-mention selection from 2023. He averaged 1.53 kills per set, ranking 20th in the GPAC. He also averaged 0.94 blocks per set, which ranked third best in the conference this season.