When the men's volleyball program at St. Xavier University upgraded from being a club sport to an official sport at the Chicago school on June 10, coach Robert Heersema didn't have a lot of time to recruit.

The Illinois High School Association boys volleyball season came to an end four days prior, so there was no chance to get out and scout some local high school matches.

So Heersema, who has coached women's volleyball at the school for 23 years, relied on his gut feeling when assembling the inaugural 2009-10 Cougars squad.

"Recruiting-wise, it was no work whatsoever," he said. "I took a lot of the guys face value, without even seeing them play. When I was asked to do this June 10, it was boom."

Eight of the 12 members of the roster are from TribLocal area schools or communities.

Downers Grove South graduates Joe Zahalka and Aaron Porter, Shepard's Joe Mooney, Sandburg's Evan Muys, Plainfield Central's Chris Cuisia, Andrew's Tom Knieps, Lockport's Stephen Wasilewski and Palos Heights resident Matt Yerkes (Marist) are on the roster.

Although some members of the team have been in college a couple of years, they are all listed as freshmen because none of them had collegiate volleyball experience before this season.

It would be a storybook scenario to say these guys meshed together into a powerhouse. But the reality is that they are taking their lumps this season. The Cougars dropped 17 of their first 20 matches. They've been blown out a couple of times but they've also lost some heartbreakers in which they were right there with their opponents.

But they had a couple of triumphs to enjoy. After opening the season 0-4, the Cougars played in a tournament and on Jan. 29 beat the College of Mt. Joseph (Ohio) and the College of Mount St. Vincent (New York) in back-to-back matches.

But it’s been a struggle since.

"It's difficult, but we're still battling and still trying to get together as a team," Cuisia said. "We're all trying to get along with everyone and trying to learn from each other."

They knew the learning curve was going to be tough.

"The coach said this will be a challenge all the way," Zahalka said. "It's all about how well we can adapt to everybody. We're still trying to get used to each other this first year. I'm sure next year will be a lot better."

"This is an adventure all right," Yerkes said. "We've struggled a little bit. But once we eliminate our mistakes and build on what we do right, we'll come along.”

Heersema also knew what he was getting into, but relished the challenge.

"All the teams we've played - except for a few - have been around for at least 15 years," he said. "The guys we play against are a little bit bigger and a little bit older. I knew what this was going to be. I told people this would be an adventure. But as long as you don't walk away with bloody noses, everything is going to be fine."

He’s seen the team make great strides from the first day of practice.

"It's not even funny how much this team has improved," he said. "They are getting used to the speed of the game. Everything was a lot faster than they could comprehend it was going to be. They had to get used to me and get used to my expectations. They had to break some habits and learn new habits."

No matter what the record ends up being, it’s been a character builder and the players are making history.

"It feels good knowing we are the start of something new," Cuisia said. "We're trying to break through and learn the ropes like everyone else does. We have bright future ahead of us."

By Jeff Vorva

TribLocal.com reporter

TribLocal.com photos by Jeff Vorva