A Historic Season Built on Culture and Community

Last April, two days after a thrilling national semi-final win, the men’s volleyball team was playing in the NCAA Division III National Championship match — the program’s firstever appearance in the national title game. Suddenly, the lights went out.

While officials addressed the issue, an entertaining handstand competition and dance battle broke out on the court between the Cardinals and their opponents. After the lights came back on, Stevens Institute of Technology defeated North Central 3-1, ending the Cardinals’ 17-game winning streak and their historic 25-4 season. But the technical snafu had unexpectedly illuminated key ingredients to the 2023 team’s success: fun, appreciation and community.

“Every day we want the team to be in the present and enjoy every moment,” said North Central head coach Kyle Exline. “We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so we need to continue to love what we are doing and surround ourselves with people who will help us grow.”

Success From The Start

That outlook is part of the culture Exline has built since the program launched in 2016, becoming North Central’s 23rd varsity sport. At the time, 61 Division III institutions sponsored men’s volleyball. The sport has since grown rapidly, with 114 teams competing during the 2023 season. The Cardinals quickly found success as they won the 2018 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League with a perfect 9-0 conference record. By 2020, enough CCIW schools sponsored men’s volleyball to create an official conference tournament, with the champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In 2022, North Central earned its first-ever spot in the national tournament with an at-large selection.

“Our team was able to be successful after just a couple of seasons because the program was held to a very high standard,” said volleyball alumnus Michael Trunzo ’20. “The early morning workouts, competitive practices, offseason training, and film room sessions were all normal to us. We knew we had the talent to compete at a high level, so we constantly pushed each other as the coaches pushed us to get better every day.”

Alumni Laid The Foundation

Many volleyball alumni stay closely connected to the program. “Having the chance to start the collegiate program was a big reason why I chose North Central,” said Jacob Zemba ’19. “North Central gave me the opportunity to play my first year out of high school. It’s not every day you get to start a brand-new program and have the chance to put a team on the map in its first four years.” Zemba was one of those who turned out to support the 2023 squad throughout the season, which included North Central hosting the CCIW and NCAA Regional Tournaments. For the Final Four, which was held in Maryland, no team traveled further than North Central — and no team had more fans in the stands. In the semifinals, the Cardinals swept No. 1-ranked Vassar College to advance to the title match.

Exline said, “Having our alumni present in Maryland helped our guys stay focused and made it feel like another match in Gregory Arena.”

The supportive tone had been set earlier in January, when the Cardinals hosted an alumni match to kick off the 2023 season. “The match was intended to have our alumni come back to campus, meet the newcomers, mingle with their former teammates that are still on the current roster, and play a competitive match,” Exline said. “Afterwards, we hosted a reception in downtown Naperville for the alumni, family and friends to gather and share stories.”

The interaction had impact, solidifying the sense that each squad and athlete is part of something bigger. Jared Moser’23, who set four new program records in the 2023 season and was named CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year, said, “Every player from our program’s inaugural year has given his part to creating the legacy that is our program now. Coach Exline built the legacy from the ground up and has continued to run and lead one of the best programs in the country.”