Proudfoot headed to Thiel
BUTLER TWP — A little prodding paid off.
Butler senior Kaleb Proudfoot is continuing his academic and volleyball career at Thiel College. He has been playing the sport since seventh grade, when Tim Liparulo — son of Butler boys volleyball coach Lew Liparulo — was coaching that junior high squad.
“He kept telling me I should play volleyball,” Proudfoot recalled. “Coach (Lew) Liparulo was my gym teacher in elementary school. He had been trying to get me to play volleyball since first grade.”
Proudfoot plans to major in elementary education. His goal is to crack the Tomcats’ starting lineup his freshman year.
Liparulo has been coaching Butler boys volleyball for 28 years. He said the 6-foot-9 Proudfoot is the tallest player the Golden Tornado program has ever had.
“By far,” the coach said. “Last year was the first time we played Kaleb at middle hitter.That’s a tough position to learn because you have to do so much offensively and defensively.
“Offensively, Kaleb can get the ball down at any spot on the court. He’s got a lot of off-speed shots, too.”
Proudfoot said he never considered another school other than Thiel.
“I went to a (volleyball) camp there last summer and the coach reached out to me about coming,” Proudfoot said. “They were able to put together a nice financial package for me. It was a no-brainer, really.”
Thiel finished 17-12 and won the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship in 2019. Since then, the Tomcats are 5-30, including 2-12 so far this season.
Dylan Lasher, a Thiel graduate and one of the best men’s volleyball players in the program’s history, is in his second year as head coach. He was Presidents’ Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2017 when he led Chatham to the conference title game.
Lasher returned to his alma mater after starting the men’s volleyball program at Millikin College in Decatur, Ill., and is in the process of rebuilding the Thiel program. Seneca Valley graduate Jacob Smeltzer is a junior on the Thiel roster.
“I want to get a lot of playing time and keep improving as a player,” Proudfoot said. “My goal is to make all-conference eventually.
“I have to work on getting quicker in blocking shots. I know play is going to be faster at the next level and I have to adapt to that. My height plays to my advantage because it’s harder for teams to get shots over me.”
Liparulo said Butler has only sent five or six boys volleyball players on to play at the collegiate level through the years.
“It’s hard in volleyball because there’s only 23 or 24 Division 1 programs,” the coach said. “There aren’t a lot of scholatships available out there. I’m excited for Kaleb and what he can accomplish moving forward. He works hard.”
Also a member of Butler’s boys basketball team, Proudfoot said he never considered playing college basketball.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what I can accomplish in volleyball,” he said.
