With only two wins in the last two seasons for the Simpson College men’s volleyball team, new head coach Ike Papes looks to put the program on the map as he steps into the role midseason.
Papes was a two-time all-American right-side hitter at William Penn University, where he graduated in 2024. Since then, he worked as an assistant women’s volleyball coach at William Penn and a men’s assistant at Grandview University. He became the Storm’s head coach at the start of February, already two games into the season.
Papes was sold on Simpson during his interview with Simpson’s director of athletics, Marty Bell, and he realized this job would be a great fit for him.
“Everything that he was preaching about what he wants out of [the] program, I felt like I could bring to it,” Papes said. “They gave me something that I dreamed about for a while and after that I was set and I was ready to go.”
Spencer Krantz, sophomore defensive specialist for the Storm, was initially concerned when he heard the team was getting a young head coach. However, those concerns started to go away after just three practices.
“He’s really cracked down on the things that we were really bad at, and he’s just helping us improve on those aspects, which are making us better from the three days we’ve had him,” Krantz said.
Papes gives a lot of credit to the players of the Storm as he believes the team is very coachable and wants to improve. He believes that is in part because the players love the game. It is difficult to find many players for such a new program at a school with no athletic scholarships, but Papes credits his players’ love of the game and work ethic for the chance to improve the program.
According to Papes, “The love of the game, you can tell burns inside of kids when they’re asking for the extra reps and asking to be on a team that has struggled the last two years.”
Joseph Wollum, a sophomore outside hitter for the Storm, highlighted Papes’ volleyball knowledge as a big positive for the team.
“He has a lot of background knowledge, and he has the experience and knows what it takes to build a good program,” Wollum said.
During Papes’ time at William Penn, the Statesmen never had a losing record and advanced all the way to the NAIA national semifinals in 2024. This is the type of program Papes hopes to build, but he realizes it cannot be done in one season.
“If we just don’t worry about the score, don’t worry about what’s happening on the court in games, and just focus on our side, let’s go, put our head down and work. If we can do that, we can go to great places,” Papes said.
Papes is excited about the program’s future and encourages all students to be there for the team this season and in the future.
“You better be with us now because when we’re in those big games, we need you there,” Papes said. “The wins become sweeter when you see the team struggle. It’s like any professional team, you watch them lose year after year, and then they’re the best team in the country. It’s like everything was worth it, so don’t doubt us now.”

New head coach Ike Papes coaching the team to his first career victory against Luther