It has been over a decade since the men’s volleyball team has gone to Nationals. For the women’s team, they go almost every year. For both teams, this is many of some peoples last tournament as a Red Dragon.
With 564 teams attending, a record-breaking number for the biggest tournament in NCVF (National Collegiate Volleyball Federation) history. This just shows how much this sport is growing around the world. The men’s and women’s team will be competing amongst 48 other teams in the division II bracket.
Both teams put in a tremendous amount of time and effort all year to prepare for Nationals.
With the women’s team coming off a recent 3rd place finish at Villanova, they were hungry for more competition.
Fans of volleyball across the country were treated to an incredible showcase of talent, teamwork, and determination during the most recent National Volleyball Tournament. This yearly competition, which took place in Kansas City, Missouri, drew together the top teams from all around the nation to battle it out on the court for the title.
The Divisions were loaded with teams like Penn State, Alabama, UCLA, and many so many more elite level teams.
Day 1 Womens:
Each game was a three set match, if needed. The games are played to 25 points and if a third game is needed, it will be played to 15.
There was a lot of excitement and anticipation on the first day of the tournament. The team had put in endless training to improve their skills and prepare for the challenging games that were coming.
Heading into game 1 against the University of Wyoming. As the first whistle blew and the games began, they faced strong opponents who put their stamina and determination to the test. The team battled confidently, showing both moments of pure strength and times of great skill. Refusing to let hardship get them down, they came together and helped one another through each serve, set, and spike.
Despite fighting with their best efforts, Cortland ended up losing both sets, 25-17 and 25-15.
“It was a really tough first game”. Said Liz Seafin, “they were a good team but I don’t know why we couldn’t get back into it while being down. It was our first game, it’s okay, we’ll get used to this atmosphere and bounce back.”
The next two games were against St Marys, a team from California and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Not much changed from the first game, as Cortland went on to lose the next two games. It wasn’t the greatest first day for the Cortland Women’s team, coming out 0-3, not winning a single set.
“It’s the worst we’ve ever played”, said Sam Arone, “I don’t know if it’s because we don’t have Ashley in the back row, but we just don’t look like a team right now. We couldn’t do anything right, no one was being aggressive. We were just giving them easy balls for them to just bounce it right back.”
Cortland having a bad first day of the tournament, they were hoping to bounce back on day 2.
Day 1 Mens
Going into day one of Nationals, the Men’s team was fired up. From the moment they stepped foot in KC, the excitement was intense. Day 1 for the men’s team didn’t look any different from the womens.
The men’s team fought hard each game but came up short with every game going to a third set.
The first game was against Butler University, a private school in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was Cortland’s best game of the day. With electrifying hits and monster blocks, the game was intense to spectate.
Butler took down Cortland in the first set 25-20 and in the second set, Cortland won 25-18. Since the 3rd set is only up to 15 points, every serve, every pass, and every hit matters.
Cortland took the lead early in the 3rd set with high energy throughout the game. Time went on during the match as Butler crept back into the game. Butler ended up pushing on the gas and ran away with the lead giving Butler the 15-11 victory.
Outside hitter James Brussel was entertaining during the match against Butler. Powerful hits and plenty of kills, he kept the teams energy high and on their toes.
“This is a different feeling and I love it.” Said James, “to experience this atmosphere and energy for the first time is crazy. I was just playing my game and swinging from the good sets I was getting. The passing and the defense was on point, it just sucks we couldn’t pull away with the win.”
Going into game 2 against South Dakota State University, the energy was high after coming off a good game, the team was ready to play.
The very first point of the game, South Dakota receives the serve, with a bad pass the setter shoots the ball behind him and out of nowhere their right side hitter gets up with no blockers to be found and pounds the ball right into our libero Mattie McCarthy’s face.
“It came out of nowhere”, said Mattie, “it got me right on the top of the head. I saw no blockers, so I stepped up and tried taking anything I could. But that stuff happens. All I gotta do is move on from it and get to the next point.”
It really set the tone for the rest of the game. They were a good team but Cortland was hanging in there. A back and forth game with the teams trading points, kills, and errors, South Dakota ended up taking the first set 25-21.
Cortland is the team to bounce back from a loss, and that’s exactly what they did. Cortland fought hard with huge blocks and crazy kills and took the W, 25-21, to send the game into its 3rd set.
After winning the second set, Cortland energy wasn’t there during the final set. South Dakota took a lead from Cortland’s own mistakes. A timeout called by Keenan Mulroy gave the team a chance to regroup.
The intensity started coming back, with a huge hit from Cortland, regaining their energy on the court. But it was too late in the game for any kind of comeback. Cortland took the loss with South Dakota winning 15-12 in the final set of the game.
“We always have more energy after a timeout”, said Keenan, “i wanted to try and get the team to reset because we have already had a long first two games. I should’ve called the timeout a little bit earlier knowing that we can come back at anypoint.”
Not much changed with Cortland going into their last and final game of the day. Facing Claremont, a school in California. A game that also went to the 3rd set with Claremont winning 16-14 in the final set of the day.
The Cortland men’s team went 0-3 the first day, losing all three games in the deciding sets. Seems like the men’s team can never close out and finish the job.
Day 2 Womens
Going 0-3 the first day, pushed them back into the flight consolation pool. Playing the University of New Hampshire in their first game. They needed to come back after a terrible first day. Energy was high and the games from the day before were not thought about going into day 2.
“I’m hoping we can regroup as a team.” Said Elizabeth Strebel. “Everyone had a bad day yesterday, including myself. It doesn’t seem like we have the confidence on the court like we usually do.”
During the game, it still seemed like Cortland still couldn’t get a rhythm down, they trailed all game in both games, changing nothing from the day before. That was when the frustration kicked in for president Liz Seafin.
Cortland ended up losing both games ending with a 25-18 finish.
“I had to scream at them after”, said Liz, “i’ve never been more frustrated with them ever. We dont look like a team, we can’t do anything right, so indeed to set them straight and tell them to play our game.”
The second and final game of day 2, Cortland faced Tufts University, a college in Massachusetts.
After a heated team meeting from Liz, something sparked. Cortland stepped onto the court with full intensity in their eyes. Being 0-4, going into your 5th game of the tournament, they wanted blood.
It was a hard fought battle during the match against Tufts. Going back and forth in points with Cortland’s defense keeping them in this game. Huge blocks and diving saves, Cortland pushed till the final point and ended up winning 25-23.
First set was over, but the job was not finished, they needed to win one more set in order to lock in that first Nationals win. Cortland was hyped up going into the next set with Tufts after a battle in the first set.
Not much changed in the second set, Cortland was still amped up and had the momentum throughout the game. Staying consistent and making the other team make mistakes got them a decent lead.
Tufts fought back, tying the game late in the game. A timeout was called by Cortland to regain energy. A huge miss serve after the timeout by Tufts got Cortland up by 1 making the score 24-23. An electric rally during the last point had everyone on their feet. Going back and forth with big hits and great defense.
Cortland ended up closing it out with a huge hit that got everyone up and loud. They got their first win over Tufts ending the second set 25-22.
Day 2 Mens
Starting Nationals 0-3 the first day did not sit well for anyone on the team. After a long day without a win, Cortland brought the energy the next day. Knowing they play Harding University, a team from Arkansas, they mentally had to lock in.
Going into the first game, Cortland came out firing. They looked like a different team out there, getting a huge lead early in the game gave Cortland momentum going forward. They didnt stop pushing on the gas and killed Harding 25-16.
Going up 1-0 in sets got Cortland hyped up. Having the lead put a lot of pressure on Harding. Harding knew they weren’t out of this game just yet, so they fought with all they had. It looked like Cortland forgot how to play volleyball and played down to Hardings level. Cortland lost their energy and lost the second set 16-25.
Destroying them the first game then getting destroyed the second game really humbled Cortland.
“I don’t know what happened with us,” said Ed McCarthy, “we fell apart the minute the 2nd set started. We couldn’t pass, we were not hitting like we were the first game, and the energy on the court and on the bench wasn’t there.”
Going into the 3rd set of the match, things were heated. After a huge hit to start the game from outside James Brussel, Harding didn’t appreciate the way Cortland celebrated after it. There was a bit of trash talking on each side of the net.
Cortland didn’t let that get into their heads. They stayed consistent and composed and played their best volleyball all tournament. Cortland stepped on their throats all game and defeated Harding 15-6 in the 3rd set.
Game 2 was against a local team, SUNY Brockport. A pretty intense rivalry between the two schools.
Cortland went into the game too cocky thinking they could easily beat Brockport. Brockport stepped up this game and fought the whole way through. Cortland fell apart during the game and wasn’t able to get a win.
Both games ended with a score of 25-23, giving Brockport the win to end day 2.
Day 3 Men/Women
With a short day 3, both Cortland teams were headed into the copper bracket, one of the lower pools in playoffs.
The women’s team faced MSU Moorhead, a university in Minnesota. It was a hard fought battle between the two teams, bringing the game to a 3rd set. Cortland fought till the very last point knowing it could be their last volleyball game with each other.
The game came down to the final points, tied 12-12, MSU just had the energy and confidence on the court and it got them the win 15-12, ending Cortland’s season.
“It sucks but we fought hard, ” said Stella Ambroise. “We all had fun playing together, it’s going to be so sad seeing some of my closest friends leave. Playing with these girls will forever be a memory.”
The first game in playoffs of day 3 for the men’s team is a rematch against Butler University. After losing to them on day 1, Cortland wanted their revenge. Set 1 of the match started hot. Cortland defeated Butler 25-18 with great passing to set up the hitters.
Butler came out strong in the second set. Everything was on the line for them, win or go home. Butler fought back from being down early and ended up getting the 25-23 win over Cortland.
A win or go home game, both teams had high intensity. For a chance at moving on to the semi finals in the copper bracket, each team gave it their all. A back and forth game till the very end with big hits and great defense on both ends.
Coming down to the last point, Cortland was able to pull ahead and get the victory with the score being 16-14. Cortland advanced to the semi finals to face John Carroll University, a team from Ohio.
Cortland knew it would be a hard fight with JCU, seeing that they had a 6 ’10 middle blocker. JCU was a good, consistent team and Cortland didn’t have the energy like they did the game before. The first set was a battle between them with both teams playing clean volleyball.
JCU had more momentum throughout the game and was able to get the 25-23 win. Cortland didn’t seem like they had the energy like they did before. Things slowed down for Cortland towards the end with JCU still having momentum. JCU took the 25-17 win, sending Cortland home.