MOUNT VERNON – It was their first game, but it was not the first step on their journey.
Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s men’s volleyball team played their inaugural game, sweeping visiting Cornerstone (Michigan) 25-17, 25-15, 25-14 in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play at Ariel Arena on Jan. 23.
For Cougars volleyball coach Doug Sherer, who has spent two years building this team, their performance was an affirmation of what he already knew.
“They came out fired up,” Sherer said. “They started with some killer blocks, and they pounded on the ball. It was fun to watch. Our guys have been waiting for a long time. Remember that last year’s season was canceled (due to COVID-19), so these guys were fired up to play. They were ready.”
While the Cougars’ current freshmen sat through the 2019-20 prep season, last year’s Cougars — only a club and not yet a varsity team — managed a bare five games before their season was halted. Through those trying times, the young Cougars worked and practiced hard.
“We’ve got a lot of talented players,” Sherer said. “They just need to play together. Most have not played together before. Having everybody at practice with multiple lineups and working on different partners lets them constantly play with somebody else so nobody gets stuck into one rotation. They’re used to coming in and playing in different roles.”
Sherer has decades of experience as head coach, assistant coach, official and player. He coached Junior Olympic teams for over 20 years. Along the way, he was head coach of the girls’ team at Cuyahoga Falls Christian Academy and an assistant at Malone College. The Naz signed him in February of 2019 and he got right to work building a new team.
“I went out looking for trailblazers,” Sherer said. “To come to a new program in a small Christian college in rural America, you have to be willing to blaze a trail. You have to step up to a challenge. I don’t want anyone (who) is not willing to take that risk.”
For Mount Vernon High School graduate Spencer Stanley, who led MVNU (1-0, 1-0) with 10 kills on Saturday, the choice was easy.
“My parents graduated from Mount Vernon Nazarene.” Stanley said. “I thought it would be a special thing just to be able to start a program and get things going. This school is very important to me and this community. I know that — COVID or not — we’re going to have a lot of support.”
Cougars setter Jaysen Matsumoto had 31 assists and Caden Donaldson had 13 digs in Saturday’s victory. Both, like Stanley, are freshmen.
“We wanted to come out here and make a statement,” Stanley said. “We wanted to let people know that we’re not afraid of anybody.”
Cade Meza had seven kills, Maximilliano Hernandez had 16 assists and Alex Hekman had eight digs to lead the Golden Eagles (0-3, 0-1).
