Six a.m. in Oberlin last Monday. Not much was going on. But a handful of athletes were hitting the gym - before the sun's rays could claim the same. The men's club volleyball team practiced for two hours to prepare for Saturday's Conference tournament.
The team returned to Philips Gym the next three mornings. And when they got to the College of Wooster, the hard work paid off.
The Yeomen had their best opening game of the year, starting strong against the hosting Scots, but eventually losing 10-15. They built momentum and won the next game 15-8. The tournament was set up so that each team would play two games against the other five squads, so the possibility of a split loomed.
Oberlin next faced Wittenberg University and lost both games, 8-15, 10-15. The team then surprised a very strong Case Western Reserve University team taking both games. Oberlin led most of the first game but Case came back to claim a game point at 14-13. The Yeomen played tough and fought back to win 16-14. "Case has a very sophisticated defense," senior Austin Kerr said. "We have a very simple defense. But I told our guys that if we could execute our defense, we could win." Sophomore Matt Groza won the last three service points and sophomore Sam Chung had the game-winning kill. The Yeomen kept the intensity up and won the second game 15-12.
After a break, the Yeomen split with Earlham College and then took both games against Ohio Wesleyan University, considered one of the stronger teams in the NCAC.
The teams were seeded according to the number of games won after the 10 round-robin games. Oberlin's 6-4 record earned a number-three seed, behind Wooster and Wittenberg.
Oberlin took on the sixth-seeded Earlham in the first round of the single-elimination tournament which returned to the normal best-of-three game format. The Yeomen got off to a slow start, but bounced back from a 10-6 deficit to win 15-12. Junior Steve Papavasilopoulos had some sweet swings despite taking a dramatic tumble from the bleachers while watching a match earlier in the day.
The Yeomen continued to gain momentum and looked unstoppable in the second game. The men ousted the Quakers from the tournament with a conclusive 15-6 win. Kerr had some huge kills and senior Rob Cornfeld played a key role at middle hitter, the first time he played the position in competition. He had some key blocks and plenty of kills against towering opponents. "Rob stepped up and turned a weakness into a strength," Kerr said.
Next up was the Wittenberg team that had swept Oberlin in the first stage of the tournament. The second time around was no better. They lost two straight 15-5, 15-5. "It was kind of disappointing," said Cornfeld, "But we certainly gave it our best effort."
"I guess Wittenberg just had our number," said Robb Stolberg OC '95. "They weren't overpowering. We definitely could have beat them."
Although members of the team expressed disappointment with the outcome of the tournament, the team's level of play was usually quite high. "We played phenomenally against great teams," said Kerr. "We're kind of mysterious that way."
Reaching for it: Austin Kerr and Rob Cornfeld go up for the block. Cornfeld debuted at middle hitter last weekend. (photo by Robb Stolberg)
Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 124, Number 20; April 12, 1996
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