Full-fledged IHSAA status for boys volleyball has Trojans excited to show how much improvement they have made via offseason participation

Tom Keegan
onwardtrojans.com

The IHSAA removed the word “emerging” in front of “sport” a year ahead of schedule and that move alone has energized athletes across the state who are excited to play boys volleyball in its first year as a full-fledged high school sport in Indiana.
State champions will be crowned, and even though Chesterton doesn’t appear to have enough experienced talent to make that happen, the excitement over the sport losing its quasi status is palpable.
History will be made in the Chesterton gymnasium Monday, March 24, when the Trojans play an IHSAA home volleyball match vs. Boone Grove at 5 p.m., ending a long wait for Chesterton senior Jack Rodriguez, who enjoyed watching older sister Ella play in the fall at Chesterton.
Jack so badly wanted to play his sister’s sport that he joined a club in Gary at the age of 8 because that was the closest one he could find. Now, he just has to walk down the hall every day to practice with high school teammates.
“I think we’re going to be pretty good. We’ve got a good shot to go far,” Rodriguez said. “All of our players are volleyball players now. This is nobody’s first year, and we’ve got a good team. We’re like a team. We really enjoy each other. We’re all good friends.”
Last year was the second year of a three-year trial as an emerging sport to see whether enough schools would field teams for the IHSAA to make boys volleyball a full-fledged sport with a state tournament it would sanction. It was such a success that the third year wasn’t necessary.
After several years without a club team, Chesterton brought one back in Rodriguez’s sophomore year. Through last season, it was easy to tell the experienced volleyball players from the newbies. Not so now, Rodriguez said.
“There was a mixture of kids who just started playing or never played before, so this year it’s at least everyone’s second year,” he said.
An outside hitter, Rodriguez has committed to play volleyball at Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio. He still is significantly more advanced than most of his teammates, but his eagerness for the season to start is shared by many.
“I think the boys are more excited now knowing they don’t have to worry about it not being here the next year,” said head coach Kevin Labaj, assistant to Lindsay Nibert on the Trojans’ girls volleyball team in the fall. “It’s staying. It’s here, and they’re ready to go.”
Labaj is excited to see what senior middle blocker Bryton Oliver can do with a full season playing next to senior Robert Williams. Oliver suffered a broken leg playing club volleyball and didn’t play until the last few meatches of last season.
“He’s returning this year, stronger than ever, so he’s excited,” Labaj said of Oliver.
Rodriguez and Oliver weren’t the only ones on the team to use club volleyball to work on their games during the high school offseason.
“We had six, seven guys playing in the offseason, so we’re all committed,” Oliver said.
That’s one reason Labaj carries optimism into the season.
“I feel like we have a really strong group of boys this year. I think having the returners we have this year and them playing in the offseason, that we’re going to be pretty high up in the DAC this year,” he said.
Senior George O’Connor, a standout defender on the soccer team, is an outside hitter.
“This will be his second year and he had a great year last year and has gotten so much better this year,” Labaj said.
Senior Ryan Tucker, a middle blocker last year, moves to right-side hitter, also known as opposite hitter.
“He should be really good,” Labaj said.
To an extent, a team’s hitters are only as good as the setter or setters who facilitate them, which is another reason Labaj projects a better product to watch than last season.
Sophomore setter/outside hitter Nate Wihut has “become really good,” according to Labaj, who added that freshman setter Declan Ringler, his manager the past two years, is a “phenomenal defensive player, great server, and his volleyball knowledge as a freshman already is super ahead of a lot of the boys.”
Cesar Mendoza, LaPorte’s libero last season, has transferred to Chesterton. Adam LeNeave, the Trojans’ libero last season, is back.
“Declan and Jack and Adam and Cesar and George, our defense, I think it’s going to be hard to put a ball down on us,” Labaj said. “And we were in the top three (in the DAC) for blocking last year and that was without Bryton. With Bryton in the mix, I think we’ll be in the top one or two. I do feel like we’ll have if not the best, close to the best defense in the DAC this year.”
The coach also is high on athletes he expects to swing between JV and varsity, including football player Zane Westerlund.
“He jumps out of the gym,” Labaj said. “And Keith Ward didn’t play last year, but he played club this year. Very smart, good volleyball knowledge.”
The first chance to test how it all comes together on the floor comes today, when Washington Township (13-8 overall and 8-4 in the Porter County Conference last season) visits Chesterton (11-10, 8-6 in the DAC) for a 5 p.m. scrimmage.
The schools don’t face each other in the regular season, but could meet in the nine-deep Michigan City sectional, which also has Kouts, LaPorte, Morgan Township, South Central, Tri-Township, and Westville.
Labaj’s preseason take on the sectional field: “We’ll have some of the tough PCC schools like Morgan (Township) and Westville and Washington Township but the only DAC schools we’ll have are City and LaPorte, and I think we’ll be able to handle them well. The PCC schools, depending on how they are, could give us some struggle.”
The Trojans open their season Saturday in the DAC Invitational at Lake Central, a nice tuneup for the historic first home match vs. Boone Grove, which is coming off a 28-7 season.


2025 Chesterton boys volleyball varsity roster
No. Name Grade Position
1 Adam LeNeave 11 L/DS
2 Cesar Mendoza 11 L/DS
3 Declan Ringler 9 S
4 Jackson Whalen 11 DS
5 Robbie Lange 12 DS
6 Ryan Tucker 12 M/Opp
7 Keith Ward 11 Opp
8 Nate Mihut 10 S/Opp
10 Jack Rodriguez 12 OH
11 Bryton Oliver 12 M
12 Zane Westerlund 10 OH
13 Robert Williams 12 M
15 Randall Deutscher III 11 M/Opp
16 George O’Connor 12 OH
Head coach: Kevin Labaj
Assistant coach: Lindsay Nibert
2025 Chesterton boys volleyball JV roster
No. Name Grade Position
1 Zane Westerlund 10 OH
2 Hunter McKee 11 DS
3 Carson Chaffee 11 OH
4 Jackson Whalen 11 L
6 Zach Marchese 11 S
7 Brayden Wallen 9 Opp
9 Elliot Mehling 10 M
10 Bryce Sartin 11 M
13 Randall Deutscher 11 M/Opp
14 Ryan Postelnik 11 OH
17 Keith Ward 11 S/Opp
18 Caden Koedyker 11 Opp

2025 Chesterton boys volleyball schedule
Date Event Time
3/18 vs. WASH. TWSHP (scrimmage) 5 p.m.
3/22 @DAC Invitational at Lake Central 9 a.m.
3/24 vs. BOONE GROVE 5 p.m.
3/27 vs. HEBRON 5 p.m.
3/31 vs. VALPARAISO 5 p.m.
4/02 vs. LAPORTE 5 p.m.
4/03 @Crown Point 5 p.m.
4/07 vs. PORTAGE 5 p.m.
4/08 @Lake Central 5 p.m.
4/10 @Michigan City 5 p.m.
4/12 CHESTERTON INVITATIONAL 9 a.m.
4/14 @Merrillville 5 p.m.
4/17 @LaPorte 5 p.m.
4/21 LAKE CENTRAL 5 p.m.
4/24 @Valparaiso 5 p.m.
4/26 @Valparaiso Tournament 9 a.m.
4/28 CROWN POINT 5 p.m.
5/01 @Portage 5 p.m.
5/05 MICHIGAN CITY 5 p.m.
5/07 SOUTH CENTRAL 5 p.m.
5/08 MERRILLVILLE 5 p.m.
5/13-17 @IHSAA SECTIONAL TBD
5/24 @IHSAA REGIONAL TBD
5/31 @IHSAA STATE TBD