Boys' Volleyball "Sets" Up for First Official Season

Senior George Laake (12) hits the ball during a varsity practice and scrimmage with McNick on March 17. /  Natalie Feldkamp | PHOTO EDITOR

By John Sellins | Staff Writer

March 20, 2025

After a trial run season in 2024, Anderson is preparing to field its first official boys volleyball team this spring. 2025 will mark the first season boys volleyball is officially recognized by the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. 

The Raptors are scheduled to play 22 games from March 18-May 8, including 14 conference games against seven opponents. Many local ECC schools, such as Turpin and West Clermont, are also in the burgeoning stages of a boys volleyball program.

“I’m hoping to see how I do against different teams…that may be a little bit more difficult or a little bit easier [and] see how my sets turn out,” sophomore Jimmy McNulty (12), who plays in both varsity and junior varsity games, said.

The introduction of boys volleyball into the ECC also means rosters, schedules, and statistics from all games can be accessed by the public at eccsports.com. Eight of the conference’s ten teams will be competing this season (Little Miami and Winton Woods will not field teams this year).

Head Coach Alex Deimling, a 2018 graduate of Archbishop McNicholas High School, who played four years of volleyball for the Rockets, will be leading the Raptors for his second season. Deimling then played volleyball in college at the University of South Carolina and the University of Cincinnati before joining the Anderson coaching staff.

“[I’m looking forward to] watching the players that are new and developing in the sport get better and, overall, [seeing] how the team can succeed and get better throughout the year,” Deimling said.

Deimling estimates that 6-8 of the organization’s 18 players are in their first season of competitive volleyball, and only four Raptors have played club volleyball outside of school. One player who fits into the latter category is senior Leighton Iredale, who the team hopes to rally around this year.

“I’ve played club volleyball for the past six years. We play over the winter season, so we play in tournaments all over the US,” Iredale (12) said.

Beating Turpin is an important goal this season for the Raptors. Last year, Anderson varsity went 2-0 against the rival Spartans in exhibition games. The Raptors will travel to Turpin on April 10 and host the Spartans on April 28.

“I’m looking forward to playing them. I hope we get a huge win again,” McNulty said.

After playing just eight games in last year’s pilot season, Anderson will play over twice that number this season. The Raptors will play at least three games per week over a five-week stretch in April and May, including two weeks with games Monday through Thursday.

“If we’re practicing almost every day and playing other days, I just need to take my rest days on Sunday and…take a break,” Iredale said.

The Raptors are also fielding a junior varsity team, which they did in last season’s trial run.

“The 18-20 [guys] I currently have are really committed. I’m very grateful for the guys that I have here in the building already,” Deimling said.

Anderson opened the 2025 season at home with a match against Milford, where they were swept by the Eagles. 

“[Opening Day] is going to be a big one. Milford’s a very talented team. We have our four club players [and] their entire team will likely be club players, so how we stack up against a team that plays year-round is going to be interesting to see,” Deimling said.