Men's volleyball team nationally ranked ninth

Kelly Capehart Guest Writer

Elizabeth Pacheco Senior Editor

“We’re a brand new team: We’ve got new faces, a new identity,” said men’s volleyball co-captain Scott Leserman ’09. For the men’s volleyball team this season is all about change. Head Coach Jonathan Penn has returned from sabbatical, and the Brewers have finally become full members the Metro Division of the North Eastern Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA).

For their first competition, the team competed in the Milwaukee School of Engineering Tournament over winter break. There they picked up three wins in four games, the most notable being over River College, whose team is currently ranked 14th in Division III. The win pushed the team’s national rankings up to ninth in the nation, a remarkable position since the team hasn’t had a winning season since 2003.

The players and Penn openly recognize this drought of recorded wins, yet they seem determined not to let past seasons act as a distraction.

“Those seasons have definitely put a dent in our history, but in a lot of ways, those guys are so determined to end that and change that, it’s almost working for us in some ways,” said Penn.
Co-captain for the team, Kyle Giunta ’08 agreed. “We don’t focus on the past. If nothing else, all the losing, just gives us more motivation, more desire.”

Giunta has shown that motivatino on the court, playing the libero position for the team and ranking second on Vassar’s all-time digs list.

Younger players have been coming into their own as well. Phil Tully ’10 could perhaps be described as the team’s breakout player this season. During the Wisconsin tournament, he recorded career highs for kills and attempts, even coming up big for the Brewers during their loss to third-ranked Carthage. For his performance he was named to the All-Tournament Team and was recognized by NECVA as the Conference Player of the Week, an honor never before received by a Brewer.

While Tully has been publicly recognized for his performance, all members of the squad have been stepping up, recording season and career highs in just about every game. For example, against Purchase College on Feb. 2, Evan Frederickson ’11 registered a career high of six kills, while during the win over SUNY New Paltz on Jan. 30 John Kessenich ’09 had a game-high of 39 assists.

For Penn, this year’s success comes as no surprise as he can easily identify what sets this year’s team apart from those in the past: “Their commitment to each other and to the program. Most people, when they get to this level, they’re going to show up and do the work…But there’s that next level, where you’re really committed to each other, and to the program, to do the extra things: to trust one another, and to believe in each other, and to be willing to change.”

Perhaps the best example of this commitment could be seen, not in one of the team’s five wins, but in their loss to Springfield College on Jan. 26. The Brewers went into the game aware that they were going up against the first-ranked Division III team, yet played hard to win the first and fourth games, eventually battling it out in a close fifth, falling just short of victory.

“I think we honestly have enough talent, and enough commitment, and enough chemistry to potentially win our conference and go to the Final Four,” said Penn. “[The boys] have really done fantastically well so far.”

With a majority of their season still left to play, the Brewers are far from finishing with a winning season. Tough league opponents loom ahead, including a rematch with earlier opponent Carthage this Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Nazarath College Tournament.

Hard work and commitment will need to become team strengths, as they delve further into their season. Co-captain Tom Pawlowki ’08 is confident that he and his teammates will rise to the occasion.
“I feel we have discipline,” he said. “[This season we’re learning about] caring for a team, taking care of each other, pushing hard, going one hundred percent, pushing yourself.”

Leserman agreed, “We’re like a family that huddles around each other and pushes each other forward.”
This mentality is certainly a result of Penn’s coaching. “Volleyball is a byproduct of what we do,” said Penn. “It’s about learning how to be a good teammate. It’s about learning mental strength. It’s about learning character: the character that comes from winning and the character that comes from losing. That’s where our emphasis lies.”

Penn had his own personal achievement this season when he recorded his hundredth win, coaching the Brewers to a 3-0 defeat of SUNY New Paltz on Jan. 23.

With these early successes and a strong determination and commitment to the game, the potential for good things to come seems limitless. The banner that hangs above their court in Kenyon Hall, the team’s home court, seems, in a way, prophetic: It depicts Matthew Vassar holding two volleyballs, and the text reads, “Chill. Good things are brewing.” As far as the team is concerned, truer words were never spoken.