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Four all-conference college men’s volleyball players will compete for a European championship in beach volleyball.
CSUN outside attacker Dimitar Kalchev, Mount Olive opposite Robert Poole and both Barton outside attacker Vasilis Mandilaris and opposite Angelos Mandilaris were all selected to participate at the CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship that starts next week.
Poole will be part of a pair representing England at the continental event, while Kalchev will play for Bulgaria. In addition, the Mandilaris brothers will play as a pair representing Greece.
Kalchev ended last season second in the nation with a 0.63 aces per game average and was a finalist for the 2017 Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Server of the Year. The sophomore also was in the nation’s top 20 averaging 3.44 kills per game on a .341 attack percentage.
Kalchev will partner with his fellow Bulgarian player Georgi Stoyanov for the beach volleyball tournament.
Vasilis Mandilaris was sixth in the Conference Carolinas last season with a 3.27 kills per game average while hitting .327, and in the conference tournament he had a combined 38 kills. The First-Team All-Conference Carolinas selection also helped Barton win the Conference Carolinas Tournament and earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program’s history.
Angelos Mandilaris in his first college season was in the nation’s top 20 with a 3.42 kills per game average, including having double-digit kills in all but four matches he played in this season. He also was among the national leaders with a 0.46 aces per game average and was the first Barton player in program history to be named an Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Freshman All-American.
Poole, a first-team all-conference selection, led the Conference Carolinas and was third in the nation averaging 0.59 aces per game. In addition, Poole was in the nation’s top 15 averaging 3.48 kills per game as Mount Olive ended last season advancing to the Conference Carolinas Tournament finals.
Along with Poole, the English pair will feature Issa Batrane.
The beach volleyball European Championship is comprised of 32 teams and is a four-day event beginning Wednesday in Baden, Austria.
Bulgaria, England and Greece are three of the more than 25 nations scheduled to compete in the tournament.