Men's Volleyball | 9/23/2025 12:56:00 PM

Former Saint Francis men's volleyball player Michael Marshman (C'16) is going for gold. On Monday, Marshman and the U.S. Men's National Team defeated Slovenia 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-20) in the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship Round of 16 in Manila, Philippines. 

Playing under Saint Francis head coach Mike Rumbaugh, Marshman earned first team conference honors in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). 

Marshman said he's proud to continue to represent the Red Flash as a part of USA Volleyball.  We recently caught up with the middle blocker and asked him what it's like to play on the world stage. 

How did you earn a spot on the U.S. National Team? 
To make a very long story as short, during one of my recent professional seasons I connected with the assistant coach of the national team at the time, Matthew Fuerbringer, while he was visiting other current players on the national team in France. I had a great end to the season personally, but my team lost in the finals that year taking home the silver medal in the French league championship.  

More motivated than ever, I reached out to Coach Fuerbringer expressing that I wanted to keep the momentum I gained. I told him if he ever needed an extra middle in the gym for practices it would be no problem for me to fly out and help where I could. Luckily enough he gave me an opportunity to not only do that but to also try out for the team competing in the Pan American Cup that summer. From that point on, and one small step after another, both head coaches John Speraw and Karch Kiraly invited me to be a part of the VNL rosters the last two summers and now currently with the team for the FIVB World Championships.  

What is it like playing for the legendary volleyball coach Karch Kiraly? 
Playing for Karch is like learning how to swim from Michael Phelps or how to play the game of golf from Tiger Woods. You're learning for one of, if not the best to ever do it. But for me it's not only learning from a true master of the game, it's also great as a player to have someone like that clearly communicate tips and pointers that I am able to instantly apply and seem to work like magic.  

The best takeaway when being coached under someone like Karch is learning how to approach the game mentally to strive to do the ordinary things extraordinarily well as consistently as humanly possible. It's a great challenge but at the same time a great pleasure to play for a coach dedicated to helping you reach your maximum potential.  

My favorite moments so far have been the stories he's shared both from his time playing indoor and on the beach. He has a lot of great ones, and you often find yourself learning something or having a good laugh, often times it's both.  

How did you make it to Loretto?  Any good recruiting stories? 
I found SFU like any other east coast high school volleyball player. It was a place I always considered playing just knowing about its presence as a D1 school often playing the top teams in the country. When it came down to making a decision on where I was going to play, I was considering a higher level D3 program. Then one day I decided to try to reach out to Coach Mike Rumbaugh one last time and submit a recruiting questionnaire. For whatever reason he noticed this one more than the other one and asked if I was playing anywhere soon. I was on my way to one of the biggest high school tournaments in New York at Eden High School in the Buffalo area and told him that we'd be there for just one day that weekend playing in the tournament. Sure enough, on such short notice, Coach Rumbaugh made it there just in time for our last match of the tournament which I guess was a good enough game for him to invite me on an official recruiting visit soon after.  

Can you share some fond memories from your days at Saint Francis? 
My fondest memory at Saint Francis has to be my senior year. There are countless memories and lifelong friendships that were made, and for my memories on the court it was one of the more successful seasons the team has had in the history of the program so naturally lots of fond memories from that season.  

Despite being a small school Coach Mike Rumbaugh has always recruited talented players. Do you feel your team and the program was often overlooked by opponents?   
To give you an honest and very real answer we were indeed overlooked. It was often made clear to us that we weren't an opponent that teams were concerned about and we were treated as warm up matches for teams out of our conference. That never sat right with me, and I never wanted to be considered that way. This is why my senior year is my  fondest memory because it felt like we changed that narrative and we earned it the right way, by beating many of those teams that once overlooked us.  

What was your major at Saint Francis?  Was the goal to play professionally? 
I majored in biology at Saint Francis with a concentration in marine science. Playing professionally was always a dream but never a sure thing. By the time it was late in my junior year it became more of a possibility that I could play somewhere overseas. So that shifted to my Plan A because being a professional athlete is what I've always dreamed of being ever since I was a little kid. Making sure I was getting it done in the classroom and completing the requirements for my degree became more of my Plan B. There was a lot of uncertainty at that point so I'm happy with my approach and all the experiences I gained while completing my degree at Saint Francis.  

How did your experience at Saint Francis prepare you for this stage of your career? 
To give another honest and very real answer I don't think anything prepares you for where I'm at in my career currently. Playing any sport near, or at sometimes the utmost highest level is something that you can only prepare for by going through it and gaining experience as you go. What I was able to learn at Saint Francis that helped establish a good foundation were the things anybody can do that never relied on any skill or talent. I learned early on that if you wanted to get better at something you must put in the work and the time to improve, and you must be consistent and disciplined with your work ethic. This foundation has stuck with me throughout my career and all the time and extra practice spent has compounded over the years to help me get this far and I think that has been a big key in my ability to have climbed the ladder to where I'm at today. ' 

The U.S. Team is 4-0 at the FIVB World Championships. Next up is a quarterfinal match against Bulgaria on Thursday.