Men's Club Volleyball

As King Arthur once said, “UC San Diego Men’s Club Volleyball is pretty tight.” This past spring , the Tritons went on a quest of the ages to prove this storied King true, traveling to Houston, Texas for the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) National Tournament. There, they went to battle against the top 180 teams in America, and in the end, UCSD emerged out of a pile of bloodied adversaries as the 5th best team in this great nation. America. Nationals, baby. First, let’s give a hand to the team of soldiers that made this all possible. The 2010-11 UC San Diego Men’s Club Volleyball ‘Nationals’ Team was led by head coach, brilliant tactician, and uncanny mastermind Kevin “Mad Trombs” Trombley. The captain, three years running, and floor leader was senior setter Ryan “Captain Cuddles” Bridge. The strong class of seniors also included two who will be dearly missed. Outside hitter Joshua “Will Smith” Doros led the attack from the left pin, while Tyler “The Love (And Real) Doctor” Kern spearheaded the onslaught from the middle. The seniors were rounded out by the untouchable skills of 4th year, soon to be 8th year, libero Pedro “Brazilian McGriddles” Silberman, who held the defense together. The juniors also lived up to the prestigious UC San Diego name. Co-captain, outside hitter, and sports writer extraordinaire (if I may say so myself) Austin “Take Your Pick Of My Nicknames” Schumacher balanced out the attack from the left side, while transfer outside/opposite hitter Justin “Superstar” Johnson brought the fury of the beach onto the court. The sophomore class included only one person, but he held the influence of many more. The Tritons’ onslaught became merciless with the help of UCSD’s second middle, Aaron “Who The Heck Is Aaron—Call Me Kappe” Kappe. The freshman class was made up of a pair of studs who established a solid continuation of the UCSD name. These two were Kevin “Nibbles” Nevalsky and William “Afro-Buzzin” Parissenti. But this team of champions could not have made it to where they did without the help of their teammates who couldn’t make it to the National Tournament. These pivotal players start with the team’s resident Graduate Student was the wild card, David “Big ****ing Dave” Henderson. I must also mention, transfer setter, Alfonso “Fonzie Bear” Gonzalez, who dished out the butter all year long. And lastly, the team will sorely miss graduating senior outside Kota “Amazing Buff Ninja Samurai” Michaels. Additionally, mad props go to senior setter Dennis “Iron Chef Chennis” Chen, who had to depart the team early this season. Also with the Tritons as more of a mental, rather than physical, presence was 3rd year opposite Robert “Das Boot” Tindula. And we can’t forget 5th year opposite Nicholas “Sexiest Man Alive” Adams, who was always with the team in spirit. And, finally, on to the tournament. UCSD came into the tournament looking to prove themselves as a team, as volleyball players, as men, and as warriors. They started out in a pool with the University of Iowa, Lakeland College, and UC Berkeley. Their first game was against Iowa, and the Tritons began the tournament on a high note by unleashing a glasses-smashing performance and beating them in a quick two games. Next up was Lakeland. Due to an unfortunate communication error, UCSD was deemed “late” to a refereeing assignment and docked 9 points in the first game of the match. While Lakeland won this, UCSD stormed back and won game two in dominant fashion, 25-12. But in game three, the Tritons faltered, giving up a three-point lead and losing the close game by two points. This brought up the do-or-die last match in the pool against UC Berkeley. Needing a victory to place first in the pool and move on in contention for the championship, UCSD came out firing on all cylinders, obliterating the Golden Bears easily in two games. And so UCSD won the pool and moved on to continue their journey on day two. The next day found UCSD in a three-team pool against James Madison University and University of Wisconsin, Madison. The Tritons started off against JMU, but they had some difficulties in finishing, which is usually the case for many of UCSD’s opponents, rather than the Tritons themselves. The match was a back-and-forth contest that went to three games, but UCSD fell apart in the third game and ended up losing. This again led to a must-win situation for the Tritons, this time against UW-Madison. With their tournament hopes on the line, the Tritons played clutch volleyball and rose to the occasion, winning in two games. And so the Tritons won their pool for the second straight day. This put UCSD into the championship bracket for the upcoming third and final day of the tournament. Day three dawned with the Tritons in the Round of 16, facing perennial powerhouse Penn State. This match was a dogfight from the outset. UCSD won the first game 25-20, behind a solid all-around performance. But Penn State made sure the match didn’t end there, clawing their way back into the match by pulling ahead early and withstanding a late surge by UCSD to win 25-22. With the momentum solidly on their side, however, the Tritons charged through game three and blasted the Nittany Lions 15-11. This put UCSD in the Elite Eight against the University of Notre Dame. Against this formidable opponent, the Tritons were prepared for a war on the court. But Notre Dame brought even more fire than UCSD expected, and stormed their way to a brutal 25-17 victory. Now, the Tritons had to dig deep within the depths of their volleyball souls and find something worth fighting for. And so, with visions of glory etched in their minds, and with help from the amazingly handcrafted signs from UCSD Women’s Club Volleyball captain Athalie “Call The Slambulance” Tom, the Tritons fought back and won game two, 25-20. But unfortunately, this emotional battle drained the team too heavily, and in the decisive third game, UCSD fell behind early and couldn’t recover, losing 15-11 as Notre Dame put an end to the Tritons’ impressive tournament run. The Fighting Irish ended up placing second to the nearly unstoppable University of Wisconsin—Oshkosh in the final match of the tourney. But UCSD had the last laugh (not really, but still…) as Dr. Tyler Kern received one of the coveted All-Tournament plaques, which will no doubt hold a place on his mantelpiece for many a year, while serving as memento from an oft-recalled memory, prompting him to tell this story to his grandchildren sitting on his knees, thus passing down the legacy of this team to the generations to come.