NCC men’s volleyball’s “band of brothers” has been waiting a long time to complete its first full season in the CCIW. The COVID-19 pandemic has limited the first few seasons for the team. The CCIW introduced men’s volleyball as an official conference sport for the 2019-20 school year.
The Cardinals are expected to finish second in the CCIW preseason coaches poll with 29 points coming off a 2021 record of 8-4 in the CCIW and an 11-4 overall record. NCC trails only behind the reigning national champion in the Carthage Firebirds. They lead the poll with 36 points and six first-place votes. The rest of the poll has Loras College with 28 points and one first-place vote, North Park with 19 points, Augustana with 18 points, Illinois Wesleyan with 11 points and Millikin finishing last with six points.
NCC will have only one returning senior, Matt Nealon ‘22, who led the team last year in assists with 431 and assists per set with 8.62. Head coach Kyle Exline is counting on the leadership of Nealon and the strong junior class to pave the way for the budding program.
Band of brothers
The preseason started Jan. 5, but this program’s mindset has been ready to go since last year ended. The first round of the conference tournament was canceled last April.
“We have been mentally preparing since the end of last season,” said Exline. “The players hold each other accountable as they motivate one another on and off the court. They do a great job policing themselves when they need to. It’s a real band of brothers on the court.”
“It’s a good core of guys and we all form leadership roles to help the underclassmen get on the same page competing for our team goals,” said middle blocker Jeremy Cardenas ‘23.
Exline is setting lofty goals for a team looking to compete against the reigning national champions. Staying healthy, winning the conference and the conference tournament, winning the AVCA Team Academic Award and making a run for the national championship are the five objectives this year. Exline doesn’t want his players to get ahead of themselves, however.
“The only game we look forward to the most is the next one,” said the head coach.
This comes as no surprise; this program has risen to national prominence in a short span.
Crucial stat leaders returning
While the Cardinals have been prepping for the new season, the returning core of eight upperclassmen are ready to carry this team to glory.
Jared Moser ‘23 led the team last season in three categories with 141 points, 3.62 points per set and 3.13 kills per set. Moser was also First Team All-CCIW and named to the AVCA All-Region Team. Meanwhile, Jake Miller ‘23 had the most kills last season, recording 128 of them.
The Cardinals’ first match was on Jan. 22 at IIT in Chicago. A 3-0 sweep by scores of 25-17, 25-20, and 25-22 was the start NCC needed for this exciting season. The third set saw them down 3-9, before a four-point stretch and 13 kills secured the sweep on opening night. Moser had eight kills on the night while Cardenas had seven.
The team’s first home game is Jan. 28 against No. 4 Benedictine University at 7 p.m. Benedictine comes into the season ranked fourth after falling to Carthage in the national championship in five sets last season.
