September 2001		Cherish Making the News Success/Excess	Letters Sports E Line Books Talk of the Gown Classes From the Field First-Person Huskiana
	The Hoyem Factor Grit, flexibility, and great feet—straight out of Scandinavia. By Paul Perillo Three years ago, Anders Hoyem and his friend Petter Starnas did a lot of talking about all the changes happening in their lives. The roommates—who come from Oslo, Norway, and Sjomarken, Sweden, respectively—had just completed their first season on the Northeastern men’s soccer team. Hoyem and Starnas were slowly adjusting not only to college life, but to a new country and a style of play very different from the one they were used to. Plus, back then the NU team was still in a developmental phase, under the direction of coach Ed Matz. “It was very lucky for me that I met Petter,” says Hoyem, now a junior, as he reflects back on his early days on campus. “He was in the same situation as me, and I’m not sure either of us would still be here if we didn’t have the other to depend on. That first year was very tough. But we got used to it, and we still live together and are very close friends.” No one is more thrilled about the players’ perseverance than Matz. Over the past three seasons, NU’s team has gone from perennial doormats in the America East Conference to defending champs. Hoyem and Starnas are linchpins of that dramatic turnaround. Hoyem led the nation in assists last season, with twelve—becoming the first Northeastern athlete to lead the country in any statistical category in any sport. Starnas was the main beneficiary of Hoyem’s helpers, potting ten goals in seventeen games to pace the NU attack. For his accomplishments, Hoyem garnered a host of postseason awards earlier this year, including America East First Team All-Star and GTE Academic All-America. He is on track to surpass Bjorn Hansen as the school’s all-time assists leader, needing just five this season. Matz believes Hoyem could set his sights even higher as he prepares for the season opener this month. “I feel he has an excellent chance to be a true All-American and then represent us at the UMBRO All-Star Game in Fort Lauderdale in January,” Matz says. “He’s very creative and skillful. He’s exceptional when the ball is on his feet, and he loves to jump into the offense.” Hoyem’s journey to Northeastern resulted from some coincidental connections. When Hoyem was fulfilling his mandatory military commitment to the Norwegian army, he played for the amateur club near Oslo that had earlier produced Huskies standouts Nils Aass and Marius Feldstad. Feldstad had played with Hoyem, so when Matz called, looking for prospective recruits, Feldstad could fill him in on Hoyem’s abundant talents. After speaking with Matz himself, Hoyem, intrigued by the prospect of college life in America, decided to make the move. He had some idea of what he was getting into: In 1993, he’d spent about a month in the United States vacationing with his parents. Though Hoyem encountered a much different game in the States—one that features more physical play, not the finesse game he was used to—his biggest adjustments came on nongame days. Hoyem was accustomed to playing one game a week, along with maybe three or four practice sessions. At NU, he had to lift weights, run, and work every day at refining his skills, all the while juggling his classes. Still, in the classroom, everything went smoothly. Right now, Hoyem, a finance major with a 3.96 GPA, isn’t definite about the path he’ll take after his playing days are over, but he’s pondering an investment banking career. He’s likely to have the confidence and resilience to ace whatever he chooses. “[Style of play] is one thing Petter and I talked a lot about,” Hoyem says. “In Europe, we were used to playing zones all the time, and over here they like the man-marking style. It’s a lot rougher, and it was totally new to us. And playing every day was another big change. “We got together one day after that first season and decided we could do really well here. In soccer, if you think you’re better than the other guy, then you’ll play better than the other guy. Once I got to my sophomore season, I knew I could do it.” Today, Matz has a team filled with players who know they can accomplish great things. Last season ended in disappointment after an overtime loss to Towson in the conference semifinal. This year, the Huskies believe they can get past that hurdle and advance to the NCAAs for the first time in school history. “That’s the way it’s supposed to unfold,” Hoyem says. “BU will probably be our biggest obstacle, and it would be really fun to beat them in the final because we know a lot of their players. We want to get to the NCAAs. It’s definitely something that’s within our reach.” Finally, a Full-Strength Attack Not many sports programs deal with as much adversity as the Northeastern volleyball team encountered last year. Injuries suffered during a preseason car accident forced three players to miss the entire season; another sat out for personal reasons. Things were further complicated for coach Ken Nichols when more injuries during the season reduced his squad to just seven players, making it difficult even to hold a proper practice. But the Huskies refused to let any of that derail their hopes of capturing their first America East title. The NU team scrapped and clawed its way to a 19-15 finish, including a 10-4 mark in conference play, good enough for third place. The shorthanded squad finally ran out of gas during the tournament, succumbing to New Hampshire in the semifinals. Even so, for his efforts, after just his first season on Huntington Avenue, Nichols was named the conference’s Coach of the Year. “Things deteriorated to the point where we contemplated sitting out one match late in the year,” Nichols says. “We had just played at Hofstra and suffered a couple more injuries, and were on the way to Hartford. On the bus, the coaches and I actually discussed what would be more beneficial—playing the match, or simply resting our wounded players and heading home. We eventually played—and won—but all the injuries certainly took their toll.” The Huskies won’t be a charity case this year. Three experienced seniors return to Cabot Gym after missing last season. Adrianna DiGregorio was one victim of the hit-and-run crash that forced her and two teammates off active duty. When she returns to her spot in the middle, she’ll line up alongside Gianina Pellegrini, who has transferred back to NU after playing for the Huskies in 1999. The third returner is Jasmine Mullings (formerly Cumberbatch), who sat out last season after getting married and having a baby. Outside hitting comes with junior Lindsay Wagner and senior Kristin Deatherage—All-Conference selections last year. Another All-Conference pick, junior Erin Spangler, anchors the right-side spot. Kristin Ursillo, an All-Rookie team member in 2000, starts at setter. “We’ve developed competition, and we’ve created an atmosphere where we can focus on more details at practice,” Nichols says. “Volleyball is a unique sport—there are a lot of people in a small space. Success is dictated by your ability to find and exploit your strengths and the opponents’ weaknesses. With the depth we’ve developed through recruiting, we feel we’re ready to do that.” The team’s newcomers bring their own impressive résumés. Rebecca Holland (San Antonio, Texas), the first volleyball player to sign a national letter of intent to play for the Huskies, was an accomplished outside hitter at the high school and club levels. Karrin Moore (Phoenix, Arizona) is a six-footer with surprising speed and agility. Shannon Booker (Santa Barbara, California) is known for her blocking prowess. “I would feel very comfortable using any of these players without hesitation,” Nichols says of his prized recruits. “That’s where the healthy competition comes in. The two things we felt we needed most were ball control and depth. We feel that we’ve addressed both.” The road won’t be easy: New Hampshire, Towson, and Maine are all ready to replace the now-departed Hofstra as top dog in America East. But Nichols believes the pieces are in place for NU to make its first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament.