Our History: From IREVA to Excelsior Empire

For more than four decades, our region has brought people together through volleyball. The organization known for most of that time as the Iroquois-Empire Volleyball Association—IREVA—continues today as Excelsior Empire Regional Volleyball Association.

Our history belongs to the players, clubs, coaches, officials, families and volunteers who built opportunities to play across our part of New York. Their work connects the adult tournaments and printed handbooks of earlier years with today’s junior, adult, indoor and outdoor volleyball community.

Our beginnings

Volleyball had a national stage in our area before IREVA was formed: Schenectady hosted the 1976 national championships. That earlier chapter is recorded in USA Volleyball’s historical championship results.

IREVA was incorporated in New York on July 22, 1983. Its original purposes included youth volleyball programs, camps and clinics, team tournaments and broader public participation in the sport. Regional player handbooks describe IREVA as an outgrowth of the Garden Empire Volleyball Association.

The region’s roots reach back through Garden Empire and the earlier Region 2 structure of the United States Volleyball Association, now USA Volleyball. Western Empire later became a separate region serving western New York.

Our area’s influence also reached national leadership. Amsterdam-born Wilbur H. Peck and William “Bill” Baird of Schenectady both served as USVBA presidents and were inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. Peck is also the namesake of USA Volleyball’s Wilbur H. Peck Referee Emeritus Award.

The wider Region 2 network, which covered New York and New Jersey, helped develop future Olympians. Ernie and Rudy Suwara learned the game at New York City’s West Side YMCA, while Wink Davenport played at the Binghamton YMCA, before moving to California. Ernie represented the United States at the 1964 Olympics; Rudy and Wink were members of the 1968 Olympic team.

Father Charles K. Dwyer was the region’s first commissioner and a central figure in its beginnings. The years that followed were shaped by volunteers who organized tournaments, connected teams, trained officials and helped a regional association take root.

Milestones along the way

1983 — A regional organization takes shape. New York’s incorporation record establishes July 22 as IREVA’s incorporation date. USA Volleyball’s published historical chronology begins its Iroquois regional listing in 1984.
1986 — Recognition for regional communication. Iroquois Empire shared USA Volleyball’s Best RVA Newsletter award with Rocky Mountain. Newsletters helped keep a geographically spread-out volleyball community connected.
1990s — Handbooks, tournaments and a growing network. Surviving player handbooks preserve the region’s leadership, tournament information and commitment to volleyball as a lifetime activity. The 1997–98 handbook already listed a regional website and a web editor.
2005–06 — High Performance opportunities. Archived IREVA materials document a junior High Performance program offering a pathway to camps, selections and competition beyond local club play.
2008 — Junior and adult volleyball, in numbers. A January registrar’s report recorded 1,123 junior members and 579 adult members as of January 17. This is a snapshot within the season, showing the importance of junior volleyball alongside the region’s adult community.
2009 — The website earns national recognition. USA Volleyball named Iroquois Empire the Best RVA Internet Website recipient.
2013 — L.O.F.T. wins a national title. The Iroquois Empire team won the Men’s B Gold Flight championship at USA Volleyball Open Nationals in Louisville.
2018 — Team LVC wins Men’s Open gold. Team LVC, representing Iroquois Empire, won the Men’s Open national championship in Dallas.
2020–21 — Competition pauses, then returns. Junior regional championships were cancelled in 2020. Junior Regionals returned in May 2021 under pandemic restrictions, adding a chapter of disruption and renewal to the region’s story.
2022 — IREVA becomes Excelsior Empire. The board approved the name Excelsior Empire Regional Volleyball Association on May 5, with the transition planned for September 1 and the 2022–23 season.
2023 — A regional athlete reaches the U.S. Men’s National Team. Michael Marshman made his national-team debut at the Pan American Cup. USA Volleyball’s biography identifies his region as Excelsior Empire.
2024 — A shared history project begins. A working group began collecting records and recollections from longtime participants to preserve the region’s story.

A lifetime in volleyball

Adult competition has remained part of the region’s identity as junior volleyball has grown. National results—from L.O.F.T. to Team LVC—sit alongside the local tournaments, club teams and everyday opportunities that keep people playing.

The region’s national-team connections span generations. Niskayuna’s Marin Gjaja went on to play for the U.S. Men’s National Team after Princeton. Former commissioner Patrick Dwyer also identifies Jamie MacFarland among the area’s former U.S. national-team players. More recently, Michael Marshman made his U.S. Men’s National Team debut in 2023.

Player development also connects generations. High Performance participants have returned as coaches: SUNY Cortland’s account of Erin Little’s career records both her participation in IREVA High Performance and her later coaching in the program. Officials, tournament organizers and club volunteers have created similar paths for members to give back.

Beach and outdoor play add another chapter. USA Volleyball’s event records document Iroquois Empire Beach National Qualifiers at Sharkey’s in Liverpool in 2022. These records sit alongside the indoor programs that generations of members have helped sustain.

The people who kept the region moving

The region’s records preserve the contributions of commissioners, office staff and volunteers. Father Charles K. Dwyer, Gary Lanpher and Patrick Dwyer were the region’s first three commissioners. Later commissioners included Jim Webber, Anna Turner, Chris Blais, Patty Blacklock and Hazel Goldstein.

Jim Bishop worked as treasurer and executive director; Anna Turner also managed the regional office; and Mike McNeil served in competition and officiating leadership. Their work joined that of club directors, coaches, tournament organizers and many others who created opportunities for members to play and give back.

Regional honors also preserve that service. The Father Charles K. Dwyer award recognizes regional leadership and service, while the Neil Allen Palent Silver Award recognizes contributions to officiating. Surviving award registers provide another way to remember the people behind the programs.

The Excelsior name

In 2022, the region invited members to help choose a name that reflected its community and welcomed everyone who takes part. The board selected Excelsior Empire Regional Volleyball Association on May 5.

“Excelsior,” New York’s state motto, means “Ever Upward.” The transition brought the XL regional abbreviation, a new identity and xlvball.org. The name changed; the commitment to volleyball as a lifetime activity continued.

Help preserve the next chapter

This history is still growing. Old newsletters, tournament programs, team photographs, awards, handbooks and personal recollections can help fill in the story.

If you have material to contribute, contact the region. Please include the approximate date, event or team, names of people pictured, and who created the material. Let us know whether it may be shared on the website.

Explore the records

This account draws on incorporation records, regional handbooks, newsletters, meeting minutes, USA Volleyball records and contributions to the history project. Further material will be added as it is documented.