Jeremy Bullard-Smith gets a point for Wheaton.
The Wheaton Men’s Volleyball Team played their first ever home game on Jan. 27 against Emmanuel College in Haas Athletic Field House.
Despite going co-ed in 1988, Wheaton has gone without a men’s volleyball team for nearly four decades. Now, the team of 17 which consists of 12 first-years and five sophomores makes history as Wheaton’s first ever men’s volleyball team.
The bleachers of Emerson Gymnasium were full of students, families, and even Wheaton administration. Both President Michaele Whelen and Dr. Darnell Parker were in attendance, sporting their own Wheaton merchandise.
“Our team has both spirit and talent, and their games are always dynamic,” said President Whelan, “It’s clear that they support each other as teammates and that translates onto the court.”
Although the game against Emmanuel did not bring a win for the team, their energy and spirits persisted and on Thursday, Jan. 29, the team secured their first ever home game win against Emerson College. The team has since defeated opponents from Regis College, Dean College, and Northern Vermont Johnson.
Beginning his role officially at Wheaton this year is the team’s head coach, Scott Reslow. Reslow was the head coach for the men’s volleyball team at Johnson and Wales University for 12 years where his team placed fourth in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. When Wheaton reached out to Reslow, he was excited about getting back into head coaching in the college scene, as well as being a part of starting a brand new program.
The team was formed last year with only four students. Current sophomores Cole Arsenault, Connor Lloyd, Jimmy Ciummo, and Jack Kenyon who now have captain roles on the team.
“We would walk around with recruits, host them overnight, and have meetings with coach to lay out the principles we wanted the team to adopt,” said Cole Arsenault ’28. “As a collective we came up with the four pillars that hold us to our standard as a new program: D.I.R.T Dependability, Industriousness, Responsibility, and Trust. With these in place we were ready to welcome our first incoming wave of commits.”
“As I was recruiting for this first season, I was looking for good volleyball players, but also good culture guys who would want to create something special,” Reslow said.
The team celebrates after a successful block point by Wheaton.
And Reslow’s goal seems to be paying off. The boys are a group of players and a team, but they also operate as a family and they take that seriously both on and off the court.
“We always like to support each other and see each other play,” said Masia Prak ’29, “There’s never a time where people aren’t cheering and getting hype to see their teammates play even if they’re not the one on the court.”
Similarly, that support is visible in the players’ families. At each home game many of the player’s parents are present, and each player’s name is cheered on by every parent, even if their son isn’t on the court. The culture of selflessness and determination is what is bringing the team to great victories so early on in the teams history.
“It’s nice that we have such a close knit atmosphere and I think that is largely due to a lot of our team coming in at the same time,” said Arsenault, “Feeling the same transitions while spending a lot of time with one another is really good for team bonding.”
Arsenault’s teammates feel the same way. “We make sure to hangout often even when we’re not playing,” said Jeremy Bullard-Smith ’29, “Whether we’re going out or just hanging out in the dorms, spending time together helps with our basic communication and how we talk to each other.”
Since the team is brand new and consists of only underclass-men, a large chunk of the team gets play time in every game, and although it is still very early in the season, all 17 players have already taken to the court at least once. There are multiple substitutions of players during each match, and they often meet each other at court lines with high fives, handshakes, and even hugs. Off the court, the team is seen laughing, cheering, and falling to the ground with excitement as their teammates score. After successful block points made by Wheaton, the teammates on the sidelines connect their hands above their heads and jump from foot to foot in celebration. The advantage to get play time on the court so early on in their college athletic career is unique, and that along with being a part of a historical moment in Wheaton’s history, was an incentive for many of the current players.
“Being a part of a historical moment is really amazing and it was one of the contributing factors to me coming to Wheaton,” said Landon Hanscom ’29.
Next year, the team will enter the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference where they will compete against Springfield College who are currently ranked number one in the country, and New York University who are currently ranked number six in the country.