Wolves standout signs with Switzerland squad

from Cardinal Stritch athletics:

Recent Cardinal Stritch University graduate and former Wolves men’s volleyball player Fernando Bernal (Miami, Fla.) has agreed to terms to play professional men’s volleyball in Switzerland for the Pallavolo Lugano Dragons.

Bernal, a four-year member of the Wolves, just recently finished out his senior season serving as a middle hitter and an opposite side player for first year head coach Dave Schmidlin.

“It’s a very exciting time for Fernando and I’m very proud of him,” Schmidlin said. “He worked extremely hard this season and that paid off for our team and will hopefully continue to help him as he continues on in his professional career.”

The Miami native made the most of his opportunity and hard work in the 2010 season as he set career highs in kills (213) and led the team in service aces (36).

Standing in at 6-foot-5 he was also strong on the defensive side of the net. Bernal tied for the team lead in solo blocks with 20 and finished second on the team in block assists and total blocks, registering 102 block assists and 122 total blocks.

Bernal also played a career-best 128 games this past season, something he wasn’t accustomed to as he was primarily a reserve in his first three seasons with Stritch.

“I’m extremely thankful that Coach Schmidlin was willing to give me a chance to show I could play on an everyday basis,” Bernal said. “He taught me a lot of valuable lessons both on and off the court that seemed to reach me and show me how to be successful.”

While Bernal battled the mental anguish that sometimes comes with being a reserve, he also battled thoughts of wanting to leave the program, something he’s glad he never went through with.

“Being a reserve player is never an easy thing for anyone on a team, especially when the team is winning consistently because you don’t want to be someone who rocks the boat,” he added. “I really wasn’t sure of my place in the program coming into my final season, but I was blessed to have teammates and friends like fellow seniors Matt Tauaese and Austin Cass who helped me stick it out. Much like coach, if not for Matt and Austin and the rest of the team I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to continue growing and would’ve missed out on this chance to play professionally.”

Bernal is currently home in Miami, but will be returning to the Milwaukee area during the summer to continue training before heading to Switzerland to play in the fall.