It took 36 years to accomplish, but the wait is finally over.
Bond Shymansky and the Marquette women’s volleyball team learned Sunday night they were selected as an at-large team to the NCAA Tournament, the program’s first ever bid.
The Golden Eagles will face the Sun Belt Conference champion Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the first round, playing in Champaign, Ill., on the University of Illinois campus.
The historic moment served as a culmination of three successful seasons under Shymansky, who has turned a program once struggling to accumulate double-digit wins into a contender in one of the nation’s toughest conferences.
“The biggest change for us is just the cultural attitude,” Shymansky said. “‘Can’ instead of ‘can’t.’ ‘Win’ instead of ‘lose.’ And it’s not me — it’s the players that are doing it and living it. They’re held to a really high standard, and it’s a rigorous schedule and the demands are really high, but I just see them wanting it. When somebody’s failing and can see success, it’s amazing to see what they’ll do to get it. And they’ll do it the right way, the hard way.”
The berth comes one year after Shymansky’s team watched as 64 teams were selected to the 2010 NCAA Tournament ahead of Marquette, something he said has been a motivational tool all season long.
“That was a valuable moment for our team, to feel that failure last year during the selection show,” Shymansky said. “And that disappointment, you could tell that was driving them this year to get out there and compete hard and make sure that they win.”
That’s exactly what Shymansky’s group did this season, racking up a program-best 23 wins, including 11 in the Big East, and earning the coveted tournament bid. Shymansky was named the Big East Coach of the Year, setter Chelsea Heier was named Big East Freshman of the Year and senior outside hitters Ashley Beyer and Ciara Jones and junior middle hitter Danielle Carlson were all named to All-Big East teams.
But now that the team has accomplished one of its goals of earning an NCAA bid, a new goal awaits: winning in the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s a great opportunity, but we need to realize that it’s going to take all the hard work we put in all season not to get knocked out in the first round,” Jones said. “Because that’s something else that could be added to history this season, if we win in the first round.”
Shymansky led the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to three tournament berths, including an Elite 8 appearance (2004) and Sweet 16 appearance (2003) from 2002-’08 before coaching at Marquette. He said he will use his experiences to guide his team through the week’s practices leading up to the Friday match.
“I told them that, in my experience, when you get to the NCAA Tournament everything goes on warped speed,” Shymansky said. “And the focus has to be higher. The discipline has to be stronger. You can’t be coasting until that match on Friday. You’ve really got to put good reps into the bank this week.”
Beyer said she and Jones will temper the excitement, despite knowing the historic match that awaits.
“I think it’ll be tough because we’ll be excited to play, but we know we have to come out and work hard (in practice),” she said. “We have to put in the best work we can to get prepared for this weekend.”
The week’s schedule will remain the same, but Shymansky said his players now must build on the accomplishments already achieved.
“All the things we do this week are business as usual, but now that business is winning. It’s sudden death. This is that moment, and they’ve conquered that dream. Now they have to make a win a reality.”