If you haven’t heard his name yet, Lancaster-Lebanon League boys volleyball buffs, consider this your formal introduction.
Karel Krcmar, Conestoga Valley’s smooth setter, has taken the league by storm this spring. He’s an exchange student from Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and he answers to “Charlie” here in Lancaster County.
How much of an impact has Krcmar made for the Buckskins this spring?
Through the first three full weeks of section matches — and with Krcmar setting up a storm as CV’s on-court catalyst — the Bucks are 6-0 in league play, and all alone atop the Section 2 standings.
CV, under second-year coach Hunter Davis, is 8-0 overall, one of just two undefeated teams in the L-L, along with Section 1 leader Hempfield.
It’s been a resurgent season in Witmer, and Krcmar has had his fingerprints all over CV’s success.
Krcmar has 165 assists in section play — that’s 27.5 per match — and the Bucks have only dropped three sets overall.
He had 33 assists in CV’s head-turning 3-1 win over reigning Class 2A state champ Manheim Central on April 7, which snapped the Barons’ boffo 42-match L-L winning streak, dating back to 2022.
“He’s a leader on our team,” Davis said. “We’re 10 times better because of how he plays and what he brings.”
Krcmar has brought quite a lot to the table for CV’s attack. He has soft hands and wrists, helping him tee up the Bucks’ bevy of heavy hitters, like Ashton Judy, Andy Bonhomme, Hans Miller, Austin Zimmerman, Caleb Reiff, Jordan Brubaker and Geno Falduts.
He can hit, too; the 6-foot-2 Krcmar has the skills to be an outside hitter — or a jumping-jack middle — but he’s such a savvy setter; that’s where he spends most of his time in the rotation.
Interestingly, this is Krcmar’s first foray into indoor 6-on-6 volleyball. He started playing 2-on-2 beach volleyball in Prague when he was 10.
Krcmar made the Czech National Team, and finished second in the Central European Championships.
There are no high school sports in Prague, so beach volleyball is the only volleyball he knew from an early age.
In 2-on-2 beach volleyball you need to do it all: Dig, bump, pass, set, swing and block. And everything in between. Being able to do all of those things well has carried over into high school ball here for Krcmar, who has been one of the linchpins in CV’s unrelenting attack.
“He brings the energy,” said Judy, a 6-foot-6 force in the front row for the Bucks.
“He’s so happy all the time. We could be losing, and he’s still happy and energetic on the court. We’re so happy to have him. He’s a blessing, and he’s fit into our team so well. His energy is so contagious for us.”
Krcmar also played soccer for CV last fall, helping the Bucks win the Section 2 championship. Soccer is his other go-to sport. He also plays tennis, and coached tennis to kids back in Prague.
Krcmar got the itch to be in an exchange program after his older sister, Karolina, spent time as a student in Australia.
After getting the thumbs up from his parents, Karel and Barbora, to become a world traveler and international student and athlete, Krcmar arrived here back in early August. Jay and Rebecca Lammey are his host parents.
Through his exchange program, Krcmar has taken trips to Philadelphia and New York, and he’s ticketed to visit Washington, D.C. before heading back to Prague in June.
He’ll have two more years of high school to finish back home. College is free in the Czech Republic, so he’s considering that path — and more volleyball at the club and adult-league level.
Locally, Krcmar’s CV teammates have showed him the sites around Lancaster.
“We took him to Cici’s Pizza,” Davis said. “And we’re going to go to Rita’s. We took him to Chik-Fil-A. And he was at the elementary school reading books to the little kids.
“He’s getting to experience stuff we experience all the time. Now we get to see it for the first time again, through his eyes.”
There was also a stop at the renown Berkey Creamery in State College after taking in a volleyball match at Penn State back in March.
“I’ve gotten to see the countryside and all of the nature here, and I really like it,” Krcmar said. “I like the school. I like the people. It’s been great so far.”
Conestoga Valley’s Charlie Krcmar, right, gets under a hit by Lancaster Mennonite during game one action of an L-L League boys volleyball match at Conestoga Valley High School’s Rill Gymnasium on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
CHRIS KNIGHT | Staff Photographer
Finishing off a great volleyball season is very high on the Bucks’ to-do list this spring.
There are a lot of banners dangling in CV’s spacious Rill Gym. One each for pretty much every sport in the lot. Except one. Boys volleyball.
“Oh, we know,” Davis said. “We want to hang one. Badly. Right now we control our own destiny. We can do it. We have the guys to do it. This team wants to win.”
Again, badly. The Bucks haven’t won a section crown since 2003, and that’s nowhere to be found in the gym. The only boys volleyball banner hanging celebrates CV’s 1983 state championship team.
“We haven’t won a section title in more than 20 years,” Judy said. “We’re trying to make some history. We want to put a banner up there this year.”
If CV does indeed finish the job, it will send Krcmar home on a memorable note.
“He’s from a different culture, different language, different way of life,” Judy said. “So, we’ve learned so much from him. I hope he’s learned some things from us.”