Photo by: Kennedy Duke
Men's Volleyball Adds to 2024 Roster
9/14/2023 9:50:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. — Head Coach Jonathan Winder and the Pepperdine men's volleyball team's coaching staff announced the addition of four Waves for the 2024 roster. The program will welcome Martin de Chavarria, Ilay Haver, Cole Ketrzynski and Alex Mrkalj this fall.
Earlier in March, the Waves also announced the addition of four other players having joined the roster - Jack and Ryan Graves, Matt Mazur and Tyler Stewart – bringing the newcomer total to eight.
Martin de Chavarria will be joining the Waves from Palma de Mallorca, Spain after graduating from NJIT, playing four seasons with the Highlanders as a middle blocker. De Chavarria earned EIVA second team honors in 2023, 2022 and 2021 and honorable mention status in 2020. He tabbed a spot on the EIVA All-Tournament Team in 2022 as well. He is a three-time EIVA All-Academic team honoree and has been on the Dean's List five times, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a 3.812 grade point average at NJIT. De Chavarria previously attended the American International School of Mallorca and is a three-time Spanish League Champion and three-time Spanish League runner-up, while playing over 40 matches internationally with Spain's Junior National Team. This season with NJIT, de Chavarria has posted 1.00 blocks, 1.48 kills per set and has kept a .368 hitting percentage.
Ilay Haver will be joining the squad after having performed as an outside hitter for the Israel National Team, most recently competing at the 2023 European Championship. On the club scene, he has competed for Hapoel Mate-Asher Ako, earning a silver medal at the Israel Premier League. He also played for Hapoel Menashe Emek Hefer and helped lead the squad to bronze finishes in the Israel Premier League and at the Israeli Cup.
Cole Ketrzynski is originally from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but has spent the last four years in Westwood playing at UCLA. While with the Bruins, a team that made the NCAA Championship title match last season, he has played in 60 matches, averaging 2.84 kills/set on a .331 clip, along with 0.24 aces/set. He earned AVCA All-America honorable mention and All-MPSF first team honors in 2021, while also garnering Off the Block's Freshman All-American and All-MPSF second team acclaim in 2020. He played for the Canadian Next Gen B Team in 2022, helping them to second-place at the Pan Am Cup in Tepic, Mexico and the Pan Am Final 6 in Gatineau, Canada in 2022. He also previously played for the Canadian Junior National Team and Canadian Youth National Team. Ketrzynski played for Pakmen Volleyball Club for four years, earning a pair of 18U national championships in 2018 and 2019, and runner-up finishes in 2017 (18U) and 2016 (17U). He was a member of the Canadian Volleyball All-Star Team in 2016, 2018 and 2019. He graduated from York Mills Collegiate Institute in 2019, playing three seasons and helping his team to three-consecutive AAA TDSSAA City Championships.
Alex Mrkalj joins the Waves from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, by way of Princeton where he graduated after four years with the Tigers. He helped Princeton to EIVA Champions status in 2022 and has played in 60 matches, totaling 1.60 kills/set on a .228 clip with 0.61 digs/set. He is a three-time EIVA All-Academic honoree. Mrkalj played for Team Ontario and Team Canada, highlighting his time there with a Canada Games gold medal in 2017, USAV HP gold honors in 2018 and a NORCECA Pan Am Cup silver medal finish in 2019. On the club scene, he played for Niagara Rapids and Fury and Kitchener/Waterloo Predators, earning a national bronze medal and provincial silver medal with those teams in the process. He attended Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School for high school, playing in the OFSAA league for four years. He helped lead the team to an OFSAA silver medal, the school's first-ever medal, during the program's second time in school history to make it to OFSAA.
JONATHAN WINDER QUOTE
"After signing an incredible group of high school graduates to join our team next season in Ryan, Jack, Matt and Tyler," said Winder. "We are equally excited to add a few more experienced international players who will make an immense mark on our program in a short amount of time.
"They all bring exceptionally high work ethic and competitive spirit. They have played internationally for their national teams and competed in tournaments around the world. They will provide a high level of skill and athleticism to our team. I have been so impressed in this recruiting process with all of them, their commitment to Pepperdine and their commitment to becoming their best here in Malibu. They know that coming here to Malibu will be a training ground for life on and off the court - to set themselves up for great success after graduating from Pepperdine. They have proven a commitment to excellence in this sport and are driven to push Pepperdine men's volleyball back to the top.
"Our staff is thrilled about the group we have going into the 2023-2024 season. It is a nice mix of young players, new players, and experienced returners. We will have more depth through every position which will create a competitive gym every single day of training. We look forward to getting the team here in Malibu to prepare for our European foreign trip in August which will kick off our 2023-2024 season."
Earlier in March, the Waves also announced the addition of four other players having joined the roster - Jack and Ryan Graves, Matt Mazur and Tyler Stewart – bringing the newcomer total to eight.
Martin de Chavarria will be joining the Waves from Palma de Mallorca, Spain after graduating from NJIT, playing four seasons with the Highlanders as a middle blocker. De Chavarria earned EIVA second team honors in 2023, 2022 and 2021 and honorable mention status in 2020. He tabbed a spot on the EIVA All-Tournament Team in 2022 as well. He is a three-time EIVA All-Academic team honoree and has been on the Dean's List five times, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a 3.812 grade point average at NJIT. De Chavarria previously attended the American International School of Mallorca and is a three-time Spanish League Champion and three-time Spanish League runner-up, while playing over 40 matches internationally with Spain's Junior National Team. This season with NJIT, de Chavarria has posted 1.00 blocks, 1.48 kills per set and has kept a .368 hitting percentage.
Ilay Haver will be joining the squad after having performed as an outside hitter for the Israel National Team, most recently competing at the 2023 European Championship. On the club scene, he has competed for Hapoel Mate-Asher Ako, earning a silver medal at the Israel Premier League. He also played for Hapoel Menashe Emek Hefer and helped lead the squad to bronze finishes in the Israel Premier League and at the Israeli Cup.
Cole Ketrzynski is originally from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but has spent the last four years in Westwood playing at UCLA. While with the Bruins, a team that made the NCAA Championship title match last season, he has played in 60 matches, averaging 2.84 kills/set on a .331 clip, along with 0.24 aces/set. He earned AVCA All-America honorable mention and All-MPSF first team honors in 2021, while also garnering Off the Block's Freshman All-American and All-MPSF second team acclaim in 2020. He played for the Canadian Next Gen B Team in 2022, helping them to second-place at the Pan Am Cup in Tepic, Mexico and the Pan Am Final 6 in Gatineau, Canada in 2022. He also previously played for the Canadian Junior National Team and Canadian Youth National Team. Ketrzynski played for Pakmen Volleyball Club for four years, earning a pair of 18U national championships in 2018 and 2019, and runner-up finishes in 2017 (18U) and 2016 (17U). He was a member of the Canadian Volleyball All-Star Team in 2016, 2018 and 2019. He graduated from York Mills Collegiate Institute in 2019, playing three seasons and helping his team to three-consecutive AAA TDSSAA City Championships.
Alex Mrkalj joins the Waves from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, by way of Princeton where he graduated after four years with the Tigers. He helped Princeton to EIVA Champions status in 2022 and has played in 60 matches, totaling 1.60 kills/set on a .228 clip with 0.61 digs/set. He is a three-time EIVA All-Academic honoree. Mrkalj played for Team Ontario and Team Canada, highlighting his time there with a Canada Games gold medal in 2017, USAV HP gold honors in 2018 and a NORCECA Pan Am Cup silver medal finish in 2019. On the club scene, he played for Niagara Rapids and Fury and Kitchener/Waterloo Predators, earning a national bronze medal and provincial silver medal with those teams in the process. He attended Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School for high school, playing in the OFSAA league for four years. He helped lead the team to an OFSAA silver medal, the school's first-ever medal, during the program's second time in school history to make it to OFSAA.
JONATHAN WINDER QUOTE
"After signing an incredible group of high school graduates to join our team next season in Ryan, Jack, Matt and Tyler," said Winder. "We are equally excited to add a few more experienced international players who will make an immense mark on our program in a short amount of time.
"They all bring exceptionally high work ethic and competitive spirit. They have played internationally for their national teams and competed in tournaments around the world. They will provide a high level of skill and athleticism to our team. I have been so impressed in this recruiting process with all of them, their commitment to Pepperdine and their commitment to becoming their best here in Malibu. They know that coming here to Malibu will be a training ground for life on and off the court - to set themselves up for great success after graduating from Pepperdine. They have proven a commitment to excellence in this sport and are driven to push Pepperdine men's volleyball back to the top.
"Our staff is thrilled about the group we have going into the 2023-2024 season. It is a nice mix of young players, new players, and experienced returners. We will have more depth through every position which will create a competitive gym every single day of training. We look forward to getting the team here in Malibu to prepare for our European foreign trip in August which will kick off our 2023-2024 season."
