FULTON, Mo.—Our fourth and final inductees into the 2014 William Woods Hall of Fame is the 2002 men's volleyball team, that is only WWU sport to win a national title of any kind.

"It is a great honor and we are very proud to be inducted into the WWU Hall of Fame," said head coach Mark Jones. "It lets us know that the university is very proud of our accomplishments."

The squad, which went 31-4 during the regular season and 9-1 in the MAMVIC (Mid-America Men's Volleyball Intercollegiate Conference) was coached by Jones and assisted by Christopher Ornee. Out of its 31 wins on the year, 23 of them came in straight set (3-0) victories, while they were only swept twice on the year against UC-Santa Barbara (exhibition) and Loyola University-Chicago.  

Members of the team included Buddy Smith, Kevin Goff, Nick Ptaschinski, Luke Olczyk, Brad Evans, B.J. Lightvoet, Kevin Frantz, Braxton Spangle, Jerry Stevens, Tom Lightvoet, Jesse Burg, Kenny Wright, Brady Starr, K.C. Andrews, Dan Headley and Andy Long.

After a stellar regular season, including having a 14-game winning streak, the team joined five other schools (Park, Missouri Baptist, Lindenwood, Marycrest International and California Baptist) to earn a spot at the Tachikara Men's Volleyball National Invitational Tournament.

The Owls defeated Park University in five sets (3-2) and Missouri Baptist in four (3-1), to advance out of pool play. Then, the team swept past California Baptist and earned a spot in the championship game against host Lindenwood University, in a rematch where WWU looked for redemption from two different occasions.

Once where Lindenwood snapped the team's 14-game winning streak and the other where Lindenwood defeated the Owls on its home floor in the championship match of the MAMVIC Tournament.

In the championship match, the Owls dropped the first two sets, before rallying to win sets three and four. Lindenwood led 14-6 in the final set, but WWU battled back, going on an 8-0 run and tied the game up at 14-14. The team made the comeback complete and went on to win the fifth set 19-17 and take home the school's first National Championship.

For his efforts at the tournament, Nick Ptaschinski was named the National Tournament Most Valuable Player and Jones earned MAMVIC Coach of the Year. "It was a total team effort against Lindenwood," said Jones. "Ptaschinski was a leader for our program and our other senior leadership was great. The player of the tournament in my mind was Brad
Evans, along with a combination of Stevens and Ptaschinski, they played a big part in our success."

On the year, the team had plenty of quality players that included, Luke Olczyk, who led the Owls with 313 kills, while Kevin Frantz added 293 (2.87 k/gm) and had an attack percentage of .411. B.J. Lightvoet was a threat on both sides of the net, totaling 295 kills, an attack percentage of .352 and compiled 235 digs in 34 matches.

Ptaschinski, was the main reason why the team was so successful, as he totaled 1,560 assists (13.81 apg) in 33 matches and had 177 digs, while Jerry Stevens benefited from his setter, as he was second on the team, having 306 kills and 101 blocks.

As a whole, the Owls had 1,882 kills, an attack percentage of .347, 1,461 digs and 534 blocks, and the stats and hard work shows why this team won a national title.

"We can always look back and cherish the moment and season," said Jones. "Our players worked hard all year and it was amazing that we accomplished that feat for our school that gave us so much support," he added.