Building Belief As Eagles Head Into NIVC Championship
December 13, 2022 | Volleyball, #ForBoston Files
Massachusetts does love a winner named Kennedy, doesn't it?
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- There's nothing quite like a historic winner in Massachusetts with the last name of Kennedy.
Oh sure, there was President John F. Kennedy, who won election to the White House in 1960 by defeating Richard Nixon, the vice president of a popular outgoing leader. There was also his younger brother Ted, who was named his successor in the United States Senate and continuously held the seat from his ascension through to his death in 2009 as the fifth-longest senator in American history. Their middle brother Bobby was the Attorney General in John's administration, and of his descendants, two - Joseph P. Kennedy II and Joseph P. Kennedy III - represented Massachusetts in the United States Congress along with their cousin, Patrick, who was Ted's son.
The entire family is considered Massachusetts royalty, which is why it's only fitting that this past weekend crowned another historic winner to the last name. And while Jason Kennedy isn't related to the historic locals and his native Hawaii is about as far from Boston and Hyannis as humanly possible - he can claim a mantle as another Kennedy that won and won a lot in Massachusetts after he became the all-time winningest coach in Boston College volleyball history following the Eagles' 3-1 victory over Southern Mississippi in the semifinals of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
"As a coach, you're proud of what you build," said head coach Jason Kennedy, "and every time you take to the floor, you want to come out on top. If you're not, if that doesn't drive you and you're fine just going through the motions, then Power Five volleyball probably isn't the answer. You don't get the opportunity to win a championship in December very often, and I think it says a lot about where we are as a program. There are six teams still playing in the country, and half of them are from the ACC. We're in a good spot, and we have to put it all on the line to see what happens."
Beating USM moved BC into its first championship game appearance of any kind on Wednesday, but the trip out to Drake is more of a capstone challenge than anything else for a program now holding 23 wins on the overall season. The Eagles won for the fourth time this postseason and clinched their 12th victory at home while improving to 17-4 in matches played either at home or on neutral ground.Â
It was a hard-fought win earned by rallying after the Golden Eagles dominated the second set with a 25-16 win, and BC, which won the first set with a tight, 25-23 victory, clinched the all-important third set by coming from behind while USM faced double set point. Trailing 24-22, they rattled off key points to stave off an elimination before the Golden Eagles pushed the set to its limit. Tied at 27-27, Kate Brennan and Alayna Crabtree scored kills that sealed the set victory, and armed with a 2-1 lead, it was BC that seized momentum against a reeling USM squad before a dominant, 25-16 fourth set clincher.
"We were down 24-22 and I think, at that point, we made two really good plays," said Kennedy. "We set the ball really, really well out to Sylvia [Ianeselli], and she took a very confident, aggressive swing across the court. That made it 24-23, but that being said, we were still in a situation where we faced set point, and Kate came up with a big block on their left side that evened us up at 24-24. From that point forward, I really felt like we had an upper hand, and even though they scored at 25-24 to tie it at 25, there was never any doubt in my mind from the standpoint of our ability to execute any of those last four points. Even in the third set, when we had to go back and receive, we did it with confidence like we've done all season long."
The final point was a finessed tip from Peyton Minyard, but the floated bounce off the Margot Connell Recreation Center court touched off a raucous celebration on the BC bench. The Eagles burst off their bench and embraced each other next to their logo, and Kennedy hugged his coaches for one final time on the home court. They didn't know their opponent or their destination at the time, but it didn't necessarily matter to a team that set out in the postseason hoping to constantly extend the season by one more match.
"It's hard to say that this was an expectation because we're doing something that we have no history of being able to do before," Kennedy said, "but I think it's much more in line of a goal that we hoped we would be able to achieve. We won that first one [against Buffalo], and then we just had to win one at a time. I believed we could win each individual match, but the reality is we've had to win four times in the span of eight days, which is a lot to ask.
"Aside from one year, this is the latest I've ever had an opportunity to coach a match," he said. "That says a lot about where we are as a program."
Boston College and Drake will play for the 2022 NIVC Championship on Wednesday at 7 p.m. from the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. The match can be seen on ESPN+, which is available through the ESPN family of online platforms and mobile apps for subscribers to the premium service.
Oh sure, there was President John F. Kennedy, who won election to the White House in 1960 by defeating Richard Nixon, the vice president of a popular outgoing leader. There was also his younger brother Ted, who was named his successor in the United States Senate and continuously held the seat from his ascension through to his death in 2009 as the fifth-longest senator in American history. Their middle brother Bobby was the Attorney General in John's administration, and of his descendants, two - Joseph P. Kennedy II and Joseph P. Kennedy III - represented Massachusetts in the United States Congress along with their cousin, Patrick, who was Ted's son.
The entire family is considered Massachusetts royalty, which is why it's only fitting that this past weekend crowned another historic winner to the last name. And while Jason Kennedy isn't related to the historic locals and his native Hawaii is about as far from Boston and Hyannis as humanly possible - he can claim a mantle as another Kennedy that won and won a lot in Massachusetts after he became the all-time winningest coach in Boston College volleyball history following the Eagles' 3-1 victory over Southern Mississippi in the semifinals of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
"As a coach, you're proud of what you build," said head coach Jason Kennedy, "and every time you take to the floor, you want to come out on top. If you're not, if that doesn't drive you and you're fine just going through the motions, then Power Five volleyball probably isn't the answer. You don't get the opportunity to win a championship in December very often, and I think it says a lot about where we are as a program. There are six teams still playing in the country, and half of them are from the ACC. We're in a good spot, and we have to put it all on the line to see what happens."
Beating USM moved BC into its first championship game appearance of any kind on Wednesday, but the trip out to Drake is more of a capstone challenge than anything else for a program now holding 23 wins on the overall season. The Eagles won for the fourth time this postseason and clinched their 12th victory at home while improving to 17-4 in matches played either at home or on neutral ground.Â
It was a hard-fought win earned by rallying after the Golden Eagles dominated the second set with a 25-16 win, and BC, which won the first set with a tight, 25-23 victory, clinched the all-important third set by coming from behind while USM faced double set point. Trailing 24-22, they rattled off key points to stave off an elimination before the Golden Eagles pushed the set to its limit. Tied at 27-27, Kate Brennan and Alayna Crabtree scored kills that sealed the set victory, and armed with a 2-1 lead, it was BC that seized momentum against a reeling USM squad before a dominant, 25-16 fourth set clincher.
"We were down 24-22 and I think, at that point, we made two really good plays," said Kennedy. "We set the ball really, really well out to Sylvia [Ianeselli], and she took a very confident, aggressive swing across the court. That made it 24-23, but that being said, we were still in a situation where we faced set point, and Kate came up with a big block on their left side that evened us up at 24-24. From that point forward, I really felt like we had an upper hand, and even though they scored at 25-24 to tie it at 25, there was never any doubt in my mind from the standpoint of our ability to execute any of those last four points. Even in the third set, when we had to go back and receive, we did it with confidence like we've done all season long."
The final point was a finessed tip from Peyton Minyard, but the floated bounce off the Margot Connell Recreation Center court touched off a raucous celebration on the BC bench. The Eagles burst off their bench and embraced each other next to their logo, and Kennedy hugged his coaches for one final time on the home court. They didn't know their opponent or their destination at the time, but it didn't necessarily matter to a team that set out in the postseason hoping to constantly extend the season by one more match.
"It's hard to say that this was an expectation because we're doing something that we have no history of being able to do before," Kennedy said, "but I think it's much more in line of a goal that we hoped we would be able to achieve. We won that first one [against Buffalo], and then we just had to win one at a time. I believed we could win each individual match, but the reality is we've had to win four times in the span of eight days, which is a lot to ask.
"Aside from one year, this is the latest I've ever had an opportunity to coach a match," he said. "That says a lot about where we are as a program."
Boston College and Drake will play for the 2022 NIVC Championship on Wednesday at 7 p.m. from the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. The match can be seen on ESPN+, which is available through the ESPN family of online platforms and mobile apps for subscribers to the premium service.
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