Matthew Reichert ’28
Staff Writer
With the women’s Varsity volleyball season now over, Holy Cross has another team that just kicked off their season: Men’s Club Volleyball. The team recently had their first tournament and placed third.
The Crusaders played against Assumption, WPI, and CCSU. This tournament took place at the Jo Recreation Center on Holy Cross’s campus, so if you saw way more people playing volleyball than normal one day at the Jo you may have stumbled upon it without realizing. It was the first of many competitions the team will have this year. The players have been meeting regularly to make sure those matches go as well as possible. The roster of over twenty people practices twice for a total of four hours each week. There is no coach, but the team captains largely organize each of these practices and this tournament was the team’s first test.
Holy Cross lost to WPI in a nailbiter that went to the third set. In a very close ending, the critical point was decided along questionable lines based on the close out of bounds call by the officiating individual. Rather than have a referee officiate, the club variation of volleyball generally has players officiate each other’s matches. The Crusaders lost to CCSU as well. For those of you who don’t know (which included the player on the team that I asked) CCSU stands for Central Connecticut State University. I googled it.
Then there was the great Catholic Schools of Worcester Rivalry: Holy Cross versus Assumption. Okay, it’s not much of a rivalry because we don’t really play in any sports (Assumption is D2), but we do play in Men’s Club Volleyball. And when they played, the Crusaders came out on top. That’s worth getting excited about. When else does Holy Cross get to beat Assumption in a sport? We won a kind-of rivalry we didn’t know existed. Finding out about this rivalry made me feel as excited as when I find $5 in the pocket of an old-coat that I forgot about.
The Crusader men’s club volleyball team has upcoming matches against a group of schools which includes Bryant and a scrimmage against Clark. During this stretch, the Crusaders will hope to course correct after those two losses in the opening tournament. Both of these matches will be away and will present the first road tests for the team this year. With a sizable roster of many competent players, it will be important to find the right mix of guys to put on the court to deliver victories as the season progresses. The scrimmage against Clark will be a good opportunity to make those determinations before the more important matches to come.
Despite the exciting tournament performance and the upcoming slate of quality match-ups, most students likely have not been following the Men’s Club Volleyball team too closely. Those that have tried may have found it difficult because the team’s schedule isn’t listed on the school’s webpage. Nevertheless, this program deserves investment from the students in their upcoming games. The team has an exciting group of players to pay attention to, and nicknames include Big Mac, Big Tweet, and Freight Train. So, if you feel that you are not getting enough of our NCAA programs, lookout for Club Volleyball this season.
Featured image courtesy of @hcmclubvolleyball on Instagram
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