4/13-4/15, 2007: Irish End Season in Louisville in repeat of 2005

The sixth ranked Notre Dame’s men’s volleyball team ventured to Louisville, Kentucky this past week for the club volleyball national championships.  The top 96 Division 1 teams in the country competed.  With their highest final ranking in the club’s history, the Irish had high expectations to make a deep run in this year’s tournament.
           
The Irish opened their first day and pool play against the Naval Academy.  Despite having a top notch defense, the high-powered offense of Notre Dame proved to be too much for Navy as outside hitter Drew Williams seemingly got kills at will.  The match was over soon after it began, as Notre Dame won in convincing fashion, 25-21 and 25-20.
           
For their second match the Irish were paired against Dayton University and featured a battle between brothers, Notre Dame’s John and Dayton’s Jim Tibble.  Behind inspired defensive play of John Tibble, Notre Dame was able to divide a household and defeat Dayton in straight sets, 25-23 and 25-21.
           
In their final match of their day, Notre Dame was looking to lock up a first place finish in their pool and continue onto the next stage of the tournament undefeated.  In order to do this, the Irish had to beat New England powerhouse, Northeastern University.  Not knowing what to expect from the Huskies, the Irish made it a point to come out with intensity.  The match was always in the control of the Irish as setter Nolan Kane kept the opposing defense guessing.  Notre Dame put the Huskies down in straight sets, 26-24 and 25-18.
           
Moving into the second day with an unblemished record, Notre Dame found themselves needing to win one of their two matches to move into the final sixteen of the tournament.  With the Irish in the pool were archrivals Michigan State and Boston College.  First up for the Irish was Boston College.   This was the first meeting between the two traditional rivals.  Through most of the first set, the teams traded sideouts and neither team had a clear advantage.  Middle blocker James Foresman stepped up to sway the game in favor of the Irish, who took it 25-23.  The momentum of the win carried on into the second game, as the Irish controlled the game in its entirety.  With the match won, Notre Dame had secured its spot in the gold bracket and had to play the match against Michigan State for an opportunity to move up in its seeding.  At first, the Irish struggled to get their balls around the large Spartan block and fell to an early deficit.  Late in the game, Notre Dame rallied and made a comeback; however, it was too late for the game to slip from the Spartan grasp.  Michigan State took the first game 23-25, but the Irish had gained momentum.  In a tight, back-and-forth battle, the Irish were unable to develop a commanding lead.  The teams pushed the game into extra points and Mike Nejedly substituted in to serve.  With the score being 27-26 and the Irish having game point, Nejedly sped a jump serve over the net and in the court, untouched by an opponent to win the game.  With the match going to a third set, the Irish stepped up their game accordingly, exploding to an early lead.  The lead held as the Irish took the game and match, 15-12.
           
Still boasting a perfect record going into the final day, the Irish were fighting for a spot in the quarterfinals against a strong Santa Clara team.  Santa Clara jumped out to an insurmountable early lead behind impenetrable defense and strong blocking.  This lead held for the game’s entirety as the Broncos won, 17-25.  With their backs against the wall, Notre Dame had to fight in the second game.  As the Irish’s intensity grew, so did their lead that they held for most of the game.  Behind the outside hitting of Dan Zibton, who was later named as Honorable Mention to the All-America team, the Irish were able to send the match to a third set with a score of 25-21.  The intensity carried over to the final set as the Irish built a quick 3-0 lead.  Following some back and forth play, Santa Clara brought the game back into their reach by tying it at 10-10.  Next, back-to-back blocks by the Santa Clara right side shifted the momentum and led to a disappointing Irish loss, 11-15.  With the loss, Notre Dame finished ninth in the nationals.  Two Irish league rivals, Wisconsin Oshkosh and Lakeland, battled in the championship game, with Oshkosh claiming the title.

3/31-4/1, 2007: Consistant Irish battle to 3rd at MIVA

To complete the year's season play, the Notre Dame Men's Volleyball team traveled to Michigan State to play in the regional championship along with 27 other D-I teams. Heading into the tournament, the Irish, ranked 6th in the nation, looked to have another strong performance in their last tournament before heading to the National Championship Tournament in Louisville. The Irish did not disappoint, going 3-1 on the first day of play, defeating Western Michigan, and GMMVC Tournament Champion Grand Valley State, as well as powerhouse #17 University of Wisconsin-Madison, losing only to the #3 University of Illinois. To begin the second and final day of play, the Irish played an early morning match against Northwestern University and won in convincing fashion. After a long break, the Irish began their match against Illinois State. After putting the Redbirds away soundly in game one, Illinois State began to gain momentum and confidence, keeping the Irish on their heels for most of the second game. After a back and forth battle, the Redbirds prevailed in game two, 27-25 despite the Irish having the first two game points. The third game did not look good for the Irish, as they fell behind quickly 7-3 on multiple hitting and service errors. This deficit was quickly erased, however, with a run of blocks and good defensive play as the Irish tied it up at 7-7. After a Redbird kill, the Irish again went on a run, pulling ahead 11-10 and hung on for the victory 15-12. In the quarterfinals, Notre Dame met up with rival Marquette for the second time in as many weeks. This match would not be as close as the match the previous week, as the Irish battled for a first game win 25-21, and pulled away in the second 25-12. Now in the semifinals, the Irish got a second shot to upend the Fighting Illini. This bid was squashed as the Illini proved to be the stronger team on this day, easily defeating the Irish 25-14, 25-15.

3/24, 2007: Irish finish season play #2 in Conference, knock off #4 Lakeland, fall in semis

On Saturday, the 6th ranked Notre Dame men’s volleyball club ventured to Marquette University for their final day of conference competition. With their national ranking and seeding for the national tournament on the line, the Irish were looking to have a solid showing in Milwaukee.

Notre Dame opened up the day with a continuation of the conference round-robin, where they were matched up against the nationally 4th ranked team, Lakeland College. The Irish surprise Lakeland by taking an early lead on the strong serve receive of libero John Tibble and defensive specialist Frank Dax. Notre Dame never relented as they cruised to an upset first game victory by the score of 25-18. Lakeland responded with dominating outside hitting, which proved too much for the Irish blocking and defense. Lakeland locked up the second game with a convincing 18-25 win. The match came to a third set, which would ultimately determine who would emerge from round-robin play in second and third place. The set was neck and neck as the teams swapped sideouts until Lakeland went on a run to take a 9-12 lead. With little time, the Irish took a hold of the match and went on a 3-1 run to tie the third game at 13-all. With help from a big dig from Frank Dax, Irish junior outside hitter Dan Zibton got kill block and kill on consecutive points to take the match, 15-13. Following the match, Frank Dax said, “The defense, myself included, really stepped up for us in this one.”

To close up the round-robin play, the Irish had to first beat Northern Illinois University and Iowa State University. Both teams proved to be a challenge for the Irish, but neither was able to pull off the upset. Northern Illinois gave the Irish two very tight games, but the blocking of the Irish middle blockers, James Foresman and Joe O’Connell, in key situations tipped both of them in favor of the Irish, 25-22, 27-25. In the final match of the round robin, the Irish were paired up against Iowa State. With the powerful attacking of Ted Grossestreur, Arthur Kinsey, and Mike “Peanut Butter and” Nejelly, the Irish were able to defeat the Cyclones in three sets 25-13, 22-25, and 15-7.

After playing every team in the conference, Notre Dame came out with a lone loss and an 8-1 record. They were seeded second going into the tournament portion of the conference play and matched up against rival Marquette ranked 21st . As the host team, Marquette filled the stands with observers who cheered loudly against the Irish. Rattled, Notre Dame fell behind early and could not recover, losing the first game 25-22. In the second set, the Irish burst from the gates, getting an early 5-0 lead and storming the Golden Eagles throughout, coasting to a 25-16 victory and forced the match into a third set. Notre Dame came out early with determination, taking a quick lead. By the time Marquette started playing on par with Notre Dame, it was too late as the Irish cruised to a 15-8 set and match victory.

With the win over Marquette, the Irish met again with Lakeland College, with the winner advancing to the conference championship against top ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Lakeland began the match quickly and with intensity, seeking revenge for the earlier upset. Strong serving by the opposition kept the Irish offense out of system and prevented them from putting up a strong fight in the first set, as Lakeland took it 19-25. Notre Dame rebounded as serve receive improved, and as a result so did the offense. The outside hitting of senior Drew Williams and junior Dan Zibton beat on the Lakeland defense, leading to a 25-19 Irish second set victory. Early in the third set, the teams traded sideouts, with neither team gaining an advantage. The Irish then earned back-to-back points, increasing their lead to three. This lead held to 12-9, when Lakeland rallied. Timely hitting errors on the part of the Irish aided Lakeland, who went on a strong run to finish the game. The match ended as Lakeland took the final game, 13-15, and sent the Irish off with a third place finish in the conference tournament.  

2/24-25, 2007: Hoosier-Illini brings top ranked teams, Irish continue to be a force!

The Notre Dame men’s volleyball team made their annual trip down to Bloomington, Indiana this past weekend for their biggest pre-nationals tournament. The Hoosier-Illini Classical perennially features the best teams in the country, with this year being no exception. Eighteen of the top thirty teams were among the forty in attendance as the #10 Irish arrived to play among the nation’s elite.

The Irish opened on Saturday with pool play, where they were first paired up against the University of Illinois’ B team. Behind the pinpoint passing of libero John Tibble, the Irish made quick work of the Illini, closing the match in straight sets, 25-19 and 25-23. Next for the Irish was Western Illinois, who proved to be much more of a match. The Leatherbacks caught the Irish off-guard in the first set, taking an early lead which they never surrendered. After the first set loss of 19-25, Notre Dame caught on and put them back in position to win the match as they controlled the second set. The superb backrow play by Frank Dax gave the Irish the boost they needed, leading to a match-tying second set victory of 25-19. The momentum carried into the third set as the Irish dominated the Leatherbacks, 15-8. When asked about his play in the pivotal match, Dax responded, “Yes, I did play pretty well, didn’t I?”

Looking to finish pool play undefeated, the Irish first had to beat The Ohio State University. In similar fashion as the previous match, Notre Dame started off slowly and was unable to recover as the Buckeyes grabbed the first set, 14-25. The Irish would not go quietly, however, and played with ferocity in the second set. Crucial blocks late in the game by middle blocker “Lips” Foresman swayed the game and momentum in the favor of the Irish, as they tied the match up with a set victory of 25-23. With confidence and the momentum, Notre Dame easily wrapped up the match with a third set win of 15-10.

After coming out of their pool in first, Notre Dame was given an opportunity to improve their seeding in a match against western powerhouse, #2 Arizona. Even though setter Nolan Kane, who was later named to the tournament all-star team, was running the offense with great efficiency, the Wildcat offense was too much for the Irish defense. After a hard-fought two set, Arizona came out with the victory in straight sets, 19-25 and 17-25.

Notre Dame opened up early Sunday morning in position to make a run for the championship as the single elimination tournament play began. There first round match-up were the #3 Nittany Lions of Penn State. The Lions had defeated the Irish earlier in the season, but the Irish refused to let history repeat itself. Behind the intensity of junior Jamie Ward, Notre Dame willed their selves two an easy match victory in straight sets, 25-20 and 25-16.

Now in the quarterfinals, Notre Dame found themselves closer to the title game, but with a difficult match at hand. They met with #1 and defending national champions University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The Irish started the match strong, holding the lead for much of the first part, but they ran into a strong server who rallied off a long string of points. The set shifted into the hands of the Titans, who ran with it until the end, where it ended 13-25. The second game was a dogfight from the beginning, largely in part to the attacking of outside hitter Dan Zibton, but the power of the Titans proved to be enough to end the Irish’s run towards the championship when they took the set and match on a 22-25 victory.  

2/10, 2007: First day of Midwest 10 play complete, Irish in the hunt!

After a very promising preseason, the Notre Dame men’s volleyball team opened their regular season last Saturday. Coming into the day ranked tenth in the nation, the Irish looked to prove that they were more than hype.

This Saturday was the first of two conference days, where the Irish played five of the nine other members conference, the first of which was #25 Illinois State. The Irish looked to have more energy in the early morning game, easily taking the first set 25-18. Illinois State played a much stronger second game, taking it 30-28. A third set was played to determine which team would start the day with an unblemished record. The Irish staked an early lead behind the powerful arm of outside hitter Drew Williams and never looked back as they claimed the victory in a lopsided 15-9 set.

The second match of the day paired the Irish up against perennial powerhouse and former national champion, #16 Marquette. Notre Dame controlled the first set and played with more emotion than their opposition. The Irish never trailed and ended the set with a 25-21 win. The win was bittersweet, however, as starting opposite Bryan Winther was injured landing on an opponent’s foot in the neutral zone. With a rolled ankle, Winther was out for the day, causing the Irish to dip into its reserves. Freshman Alex Lewis stepped in for the second set and the Irish barely missed a beat, taking the game and match in straight sets with a 25-23 win.

When Marquette left the court, Ball State immediately filled the vacancy to start its match versus the Irish promptly. With freshmen Mike Nejedly and Brett Campo leading the charge, the match seemed to end as quickly as it started, with the Irish winning in straight sets, 25-21 and 25-18.

Still sitting on an undefeated conference record, the Irish moved on to face the Panthers from UW-Milwaukee. The Irish jumped out to a commanding 8-1 lead behind a string of serves made by defensive specialist Frank Dax. The team didn’t slow down as the Irish took the game, 25-15. Breaking from the huddle to their rally cry, “1, 2, The New Englander!” Notre Dame hoped to repeat their first set success. With Kevin Overmann filling the shoes of the opposite hitter, Notre Dame won again easily, taking the match with a score of 25-20.

The match of the day was the finale for the Irish, as they faced the #1 ranked and defending national champion University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans. Both teams went into the match undefeated for the day. The Irish put forth a tremendous effort, largely in part to setter Nolan Kane and outside hitter Dan Zibton, but fell just short in the first set, falling 25-21. Notre Dame hoped to reverse their fortune in the second set, staying neck and neck with the Titans late into the game. A strong push by Oshkosh caused the game to slip away from the Irish, ending the match with a 25-20 loss.

The Irish finished the day 4-1, with two victories over ranked opponents. Now they hope to get healthy, continue conference play in a few weeks, and prepare for the nationals.  

12/03: Irish fall in Battle at the House of Noise for the 4th year

This past Saturday, Notre Dame’s tenth ranked men’s volleyball team ventured north to St. Joseph’s, MI to challenge powerhouse Michigan State. The annual exhibition game, dubbed “The Battle in The House of Noise”, serves as a fundraiser for Lake Michigan Catholic High School and a night of excitement for all who attend. The Spartans ultimately prevailed in a hard fought see-saw contest, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-9.

The match opened to a full house, but apparently the Irish didn’t notice as they fell to an early 6-1 deficit. Despite the strong play from senior Drew Williams, the slow start proved to be too much to overcome as the Irish lost 25-20.

After switching sides and resetting the score, the Irish looked like a different team. They formed an early rally of their own, shifting the momentum the way of Notre Dame. Junior James Ward led the way with a long string of serves before having to roll the ball under the net. Never trailing in the set, the Irish closed it with a win, 25-19.  

The match moved on in a 1-1 tie and both teams sensed it would be another five game contest, as last year’s. Starting middle blocker Joe O’Connell provided firepower at the net, keeping the Spartans on the toes, prior to his night-ending knee injury. The team didn’t miss a beat as Tim Goldsmith jumped in to keep the set neck and neck. In the end, untimely errors on the part of the Irish caused the game to slip away, resulting in a 25-22 loss.

With the Spartans one set away from sealing the match, the Irish needed to hold their ground. The set was tied at its midway point, when the Spartans made a surge forward. The Irish found themselves in a 4 point hole. Freshman Alex Lewis entered the game and provided the spark Notre Dame desperately needed, leading the Irish on an 8-2 run, that resulted in a 25-23 win for the Irish.

Just as the previous year, The Battle in The House of Noise was headed into a 5th and decisive set to 15. Behind the unstoppable attacking of outside hitter Dan Zibton, the Irish jumped to an early lead. However, this lead quickly faded as the Spartans rattled off 8 consecutive points. Though the Irish picked up their play and ended the rally, it was too little, too late as the Irish lost the final set, 9-15, and consequently, the match.

-11/11: Notre Dame Finish Third in 2006 Illini 16

On Saturday, the Irish men's volleyball team headed down to the University of Illinois to compete in the annual Illini 16 preseason tournament. Coming off of a ninth place finish last season, the Irish were unsure if this year's team were capable of matching last year's team's success. This uncertainty was settled on Saturday. The tournament opened with pool play, where the Irish were matched up against the University of Illinois alumni team. Despite being out aged, the Irish were not outplayed. After a slow start, "Jumpin'" Joe O'Connell infused the team with energy, lifting them to a 27-25 first game win. The close win in the first game led to a slow start in the second, which resulted in a seven point deficit at one point. Strong passing from John Tibble and formidable netplay by James Foresman rallied the Irish back for a second game 25-22 victory.

The Irish hoped to carry their play into the next match against Indiana University, but were disappointed in a 24-26 first game loss. Fired up by the lively Nolan Kane, the team came out for the second game not to be refused a win, taking it 25-20. Following the split victories in the first two games, the match came down to the third game. The Irish exploded out of the gates, gained an early lead and eventually won behind the unstoppable hitting of Dan Zibton.

In the final match of pool play, the Irish sought to win big against Purdue in order to receive a favorable seed for tournament play. With his girlfriend in the stands, freshman Mike Nejedly played with a purpose as the Irish dominated the Boilers 25-14, 25-18 in consecutive games.

After going undefeated in pool play, the Irish earned a spot in the playoffs and were seeded against the same Illinois Alumni team they had played earlier in the day. The first game was controlled by the Irish, largely in part due to the strong play of senior Drew Williams, and ended as a 25-21 victory. The second game was tighter than the first, but, in the end, was won by the Irish.

With a win over the strong U of I Alumni team, the Irish advanced to the semifinals, where they were matched up against the perennial powerhouse Illinois team. In a dogfight, the eventual tournament champion Illini proved to be too much for the Irish, as they were defeated in consecutive games.

Ultimately, the Irish left the gym with a third place finish and a strong outlook on the season.

-Tryouts are over!

Tryouts have been completed, and the new 2006-2007 Irish Men's Volleyball roster has been updated! Go Irish!