Built on community and commitment, the men’s club volleyball team have propelled themselves to the highest division of national club volleyball.
Written by John McCarthy. Photo Courtesy of Northeastern Club Volleyball.
Time and time again, the men’s club volleyball team at Northeastern has proven its standing among the best clubs in the country. During the spring season from January through March, the team competes in the New England Collegiate Volleyball League Division 1 (NECVL), pitted against local colleges such as Boston University, New Hampshire, and Boston College. This past year, the boys dominated the competition. Dropping only one set of 19, they swept 8 of 9 matches to roll a perfect 9-0 record and first-place rank in D1 North.
But their success has not been limited to regional competition. In 2022, the team won the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) Championship to bring home a repeat title from 2019 after COVID-19 put a pause on national competitions in 2020 and 2021. The 2022 playoff run saw Northeastern continue their dominant ways, winning 17 out of 20 sets to earn a 8-1 record. Repeating as champions takes a special team, which means a strong bond, a deep roster, and loads of fun for our men’s volleyball club.
CLUB VALUES
One of the biggest commitments that comes with such a competitive club is the amount of travel required of the team. This fall has already seen the club travel to Delaware and San Diego for tournaments. Club president and senior outside hitter Matthew Wertheim doesn’t mind the journeys, viewing the time together on the road as a positive team bonding experience and a time to get to know teammates better.
“It has strengthened our bond as friends and teammates as well”, said Wertheim.
The sense of community that the boys have is essential for building a great team culture. Sophomore middle hitter Spencer Sweeney recounted one morning at the recent San Diego tournament when the team woke up early to play volleyball on the beach.
Sweeney highlights how the team exemplifies the saying, “Come for the volleyball, stay for the culture,” noting that “we all play volleyball, but we’re also a really tight-knit community, and that helps us play better together.”
The team also typically does an annual retreat together, which Wertheim says is “another way to just get closer and become better friends.”
This tight-knit community extends beyond the players themselves. Despite having had three different coaches in the past three years, the players have made an effort to integrate each coach into the culture. Often, teammates will play video games with each other or just chat virtually on the social media platform Discord, allowing them to stay connected off the court. Coaches will often join in and hang out and play with the team, a practice that is appreciated by the team as it enables them to build deeper, meaningful connections with the mentors responsible for their growth as athletes and people.
“It’s just a lot of fun to have somebody that will be willing to do that with us,” says Wertheim.
Along with community building, the team makes it a priority to integrate both constant improvement and fun into their activities, believing that their unique balance of these two ideals is what elevates them past other club teams. Their commitment to their high spirits helps elevate their game and deter players from getting down on themselves.
“I think one of the things that sets us apart is that we strive to have as much fun as we can,” Wertheim says. “Because if we’re having fun, then we’re going to play at our highest level and we’re gonna win.”
In this spirit, the team believes that the best way to motivate a disheartened player after bad play, is to be real with them. It’s a point of emphasis for graduate libero Wesley Cheung: “When you’re in the heat of the game, sometimes it could be pretty frustrating especially if we lose a couple points in a row. But that’s one of the things I’m trying to improve on: reminding ourselves to have fun and be a team together.”
At the NCVF National Championship, teams typically play nine to ten matches in a span of three days. Teams need endurance and depth to go far in a playoff run, and in these qualities the Huskies stand out.
Sweeney shared an insight from their coach in the fall: “The teams that win tournaments are not the teams who have the best starters; they are the teams who have the best teams.”
He adds, “When you’re playing three days in a row, you cannot just play starters those three days; otherwise, they will crumble. You have to have depth in your team; everyone has a purpose. That’s really what carries you through, and we have a lot of that.”
Cheung echoes that sentiment: “Because we’ve worked so hard to make a good club culture, it helps make sure whoever we end up pulling on the team ends up being a strong roster.”
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Coming in as reigning D1AA champions, the men entered Phoenix, Arizona, with high hopes but low expectations after winning in 2019. They just played their best game by game. The first day of competition was a breeze for the Huskies, who won all of their matches in straight sets by an average of 7.5 points. On day two, the club had back-to-back matches; they won the first match 2-0 in sets and went into their second match with a hard-fought 32-30 win in set one against Miami Ohio. The boys dropped the next two sets, but still qualified for the Gold bracket on day three, the highest tier of competition within their division. The two morning matches were tight 2-0 wins against Kansas and Stevens Institute of Technology.
The semifinals would prove to be a much tougher matchup. Northeastern was set to face UC Irvine, one of many California schools known for their college volleyball success. Despite suffering a 20-25 loss in their first set against a tough UC Irvine squad, Wertheim and the Northeastern boys kept their calm, surging back with a 25-22 second-set win. New life was restored in the team and the group was having fun. Adrenaline was pumping, the team anticipating a crucial third set for a ticket to the finals.
The all-important third set only needs a team to reach 15 points to decide a winner, so getting off to a good start is key to securing a win. UC Irvine did exactly that, putting Northeastern behind in the third set. Cheung recalls, “I was already prepared to explain to my parents how we had lost to UC Irvine.”
Just when the doors to a victory seemed locked, Werthiem and fellow outside hitter sophomore Brendan Baron went on amazing serving runs to level the tide. The Huskies knew the comeback was complete when Wertheim exclaimed, “We win these!”
“When Matt says ‘we win these,’ we typically win these,” said Sweeney, who noted that when the Huskies are in a tough spot, give it to Wertheim and he’ll put the ball down on the other side of the court. Northeastern completed the comeback, winning the third set 15-11 and punching their ticket to the finals. They then went on to defeat UConn in a battle of the Huskies in straight sets, 25-20 and 25-21.
Training and bonding are the perfect combination that put the team at the top of their division. After showing their dominance in D1AA, this year, they move up to Division 1 status, where they have a chance to face the best of the best in UC Santa Barbara and other top tier teams. The club looks to continue their run of success along with their culture of brotherhood and work ethic. Nothing can stop a team with such a commitment to self improvement and the fun of the game.
The Red & Black 