Men's volleyball emerges on national scene

The Bulldogs haven't enjoyed varsity status since 1976, but that fact doesn't prevent them from aiming high.

By Dan Brodhead

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Men's club volleyball continues to make a name for itself on campus and among its foes.

Last year, at the Ivy League tournament, the Yale men's volleyball squad lost a tough match to Princeton, the team that co-captain John Newman, BR '99, called "the best team on the East coast." This year, with a solid core of returning players, the club volleyball team hopes to elevate the level of its play and turn close losses, like that one, into victories. According to Newman, the key is staying healthy.

"We've got a lot of talent on our team," Newman said. "We had a lot of talent last year, but we lost players to injuries at key points in the season." Indeed, the injury-plagued squad lost two middles to sprained ankles. Newman also missed a month because of the same injury.

This year, Yale hits the court with a solid core of 10 returning players, including three seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, and a student coach. The squad competes in the North Atlantic Conference, which includes club teams from Siena, Albany, Columbia, Connecticut, and Marist colleges.

Last year, despite what co-captain Steven Hwang, TD '99, called "an average season," the volleyball team had a chance to go to nationals for the first time. In the regular season the Bulldogs posted victories over conference foes Connecticut, Marist, Albany, and Siena. Then, they went to Austin, Tex. to play in "the biggest tournament we'd ever competed in," Newman said.

For years, since the team lost varsity status, lack of adequate funding had prevented it from making the expensive trip to nationals. But last year, a lump sum of funding finally came through-- about $5,000. With this newfound cash, a relative fortune in the world of club sports, the team decided to sign up for the national tournament. "We went in ranked last and were pretty inconsistent," Hwang said. "It was a poor showing."

Nonetheless, it was the first chapter in what the players hope will be a tradition of competing on the national level. "We're definitely planning on going to Maryland [the site of nationals] this year," Newman said. "We'd like to make the trip to nationals a regular thing and we'd like to progressively perform better."

"We pretend we're not a club team," Newman said. "Technically, we are, but we like to measure ourselves against the varsity teams we play." Princeton and Harvard are the only Ivy League schools whose men's volleyball squads have kept their varsity status.

But sometimes it's not so easy to pretend to be a varsity team. FromOctober to May, the men practice five days a week in a converted basketball court in Payne Whitney. They do weight training and cardiovascular workouts, yet they remain a club team. You may have seen members of the team parking cars at football games. Or possibly recording statistics at women's volleyball games. They don't do these things for fun, but to raise funds.

As Hwang noted, being valet for a day is "tedious work." The volleyball players work to fund their sport, which lost varsity status in 1976 due to Title IX regulations. While clubs like rugby opt to charge dues from players, the volleyball team prefers working to support its ventures. "We've reapplied for [varsity] status every year. There's no hope in the immediate future." Newman said.

The challenges of being a club team don't end with fundraising. This year, former captain Brandon King, BR '97, volunteered to coach. This will be the first year that the team had a coach of any sort. The lack of a coach, a by-product of club status, had created a definite disadvantage against the varsity teams of Harvard and Princeton.

But being a club team has its advantages as well. Although practices are scheduled and intense, people play because, when it comes down to it, they want to. The informal feeling of the club team draws players with a variety of previous experience. "Some people played all through high school. Some just think it looks like fun. Some people want to play because they've played on a grass court or a beach or whatever. They come without experience but want to play," Hwang said. "We have a good time out there. With the fundraising, the coaching, and on the court, we help each other out."

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