Beallis Leads WPU’s Four-Person All-Heart List as Middle Blocker of the Year

Oskaloosa--A total of four Statesmen garnered postseason recognition as the all-Heart of America Athletic Conference men's volleyball teams were announced Friday.

Britten Beallis (Jr., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) earned first-team honors, one of 14 individuals to do so.  Brady Zell (Fr., Wales, Wis., Business Management) and João Gabriel Filippelli (So., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) were both chosen for the 14-person second team, while Ben Cemeno-Castillo (Jr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) was one of 12 honorable mentions.

Beallis, who is now a two-time all-conference recipient (second teamer in 2024), was also named the Heart's Middle Blocker of the Year.  It is the second year in a row that William Penn has won the honor.

Zell, Filippelli, and Castillo are all first-time all-Heart winners.

The quartet have helped the navy and gold to a 16-10 record, including a 13-6 mark in the league.  WPU will be the No. 6 seed in the Heart Championship.

Entering Saturday's Heart Quarterfinals, Beallis has recorded 236 kills (2.51 per set) on a team-best .447 attack clip.  The junior also leads the Statesmen with 104 blocks (22 solos, 82 assists, 1.11 per set) in addition to 49 digs, 10 aces, and nine assists.

Beallis has hit double figures in kills on 10 occasions with a high of 18 (.783 mark) versus Clarke on March 18, while his season-best nine blocks came against Governors State on January 24.

Zell currently has 890 assists to his credit (10.47 per set) in addition to 180 digs (2.12 per set), 41 blocks, 17 kills, and 11 aces.  The freshman, who has six double-doubles (assists and digs), tallied a campaign-high 60 assists against Arizona Christian on February 1.

Filippelli has thus far recorded a WPU-high 294 digs (3.13 per set), while also producing 66 assists, 10 aces, and one kill.  He has managed 19 double-figure dig performances with a best of 20 versus Missouri Valley on March 7.

Cemeno-Castillo's 346 kills (3.68 per set) are the best for William Penn, while he is hitting .254 on the season.  The junior has posted 150 digs, 35 blocks, a team-best 20 aces, and 10 assists as well.

His 23 double-digit kill efforts (high of 26 versus Arizona Christian on February 1) include three double-doubles (kills and digs).

Michael Olson of Missouri Baptist and Samuel Essilfie of Missouri Valley shared the Heart Player of the Year award, while Marko Jovanovic of Missouri Baptist was selected as Attacker of the Year.  Mount Mercy's Richard Struska claimed both the Libero of the Year and Freshman/Newcomer of the Year awards, while David Rudic of Missouri Baptist was tabbed as the league's Setter of the Year.

Tom Young was awarded the Heart Coach of the Year accolade, while Leonardo Bilitardo of Missouri Valley received the Assistant Coach of the Year honor.

To view the complete all-Heart teams, click HERE