By Conor Rourke
If you thought Thursday night’s semi-final match was packed inside of Blake Arena, Saturday night’s National Championship match gave the word “packed” a new definition. Fans were waiting outside of the arena since 5 p.m.–two hours before starting time–hoping to get a front row seat in the bleachers. By game time, a sea of Springfield College students wearing white began cheering on their home team. The cheers echoed on a level that none of the players had ever experienced before while playing.
With that kind of noise radiating around you, it can be difficult to focus on the game. However, the Pride’s Head Coach, Charlie Sullivan, a professor of sports psychology, gave key advice to his players before the game on how to not feel the pressure of the crowd as intensely.
Sullivan didn’t try to silence the noise, but reframed it. Instead of treating the crowd as a distraction and a stressor, he encouraged his players to view it as an extension of their own energy on the court. The thousands of voices weren’t something to block out, but rather something to lean into.
“We felt that we had a great community there,” Sullivan said. “The community was unbelievable—when people from our campus get together, it’s really powerful.”
That power was seen even from the opening serve. With every point won by Springfield, it was met with thunderous applause. The decibels were so loud that the building felt as if it was being rattled after every point. But during the most chaotic moments, the Pride remained composed. They didn’t play rushed or tight; they played their game throughout.
That composure comes from mental and physical preparation. Sullivan emphasized that his group has experienced similar high-pressure environments before—such as last year’s championship run and the previous NCAA tournament matches. Those moments serve as a foundation to help the players understand what the intensity level feels like before they step into it again.
The experience alone isn’t enough. Volleyball, possibly more than other sports, requires constant communication and connectedness between players on the court. In a setting where the verbal cues fail, players must rely on physical cues, eye contact, trust, and instinct.
“You really have to be good person to person,” Sullivan said. “If we can just be good with our team cohesion, our culture, that could be another advantage.”
That cohesion was visible throughout the entire match. After every point, players regrouped in a huddle, offered encouragement, and reset their focus. It is a routine the players would do regardless of the crowd size, however, it’s a great sports psychology metaphor: control what you can control. The crowd may be deafening, the stakes are enormous, but the next serve, the next set, or the next spike is all within the athletes’ control.
Sullivan eloquently described his team as “patient zero spreading the spirit.” His group was responsible for generating its own energy before feeding off the crowd’s response. The team’s intensity fueled the fans, and the fans’ energy, in turn, elevated the team’s performance.
“I think that crowd probably gives us a couple points a game,” Sullivan said.
In a national championship match, a couple points can be the difference between history and heartbreak. When the home crowd shows up expecting a great showcase, the noise can feel like pressure. Well, on Saturday night inside Blake Arena, it was clear that the Pride thrived in the noise as it hoisted its sixth NCAA national champion trophy.
Photo by Emma Bynes/The Student