By Samantha Smith
With sports like football, soccer and tennis wrapping up its seasons at the end of fall, Youngstown State University’s men’s volleyball club is just beginning its practices.
Tyler Wagner, a senior education major and president of the club, explained the upcoming season and how long the club has been running.
“The men’s volleyball club is a group of guys who compete in tournaments and scrimmages in the fall. Then we are in a league that we compete in a 12-game season during the spring. It’s been going on for almost a decade now,” Wagner said.
With the club’s season beginning in the spring, it will play near cities including Cleveland and Erie, Pennsylvania for the Pennsylvania Ohio Volleyball League. The fall acts as practice time for the team with the club attending a tournament in November this year.
“We have an independent sponsor tournament in November that we’ll be attending. Technically, we’re not going to be under a YSU affiliate, we’re all just going as a group of guys and going to the tournament,” Wagner said. “It’s going to be in Indiana, [Pennsylvania]. It’s going to basically warm up for the season, see where we’re standing and see where we’re at.”
Connor Bankey, a sophomore electrical engineering major, said participating in the Men’s Volleyball Club has been a good experience for him.
“It’s pretty fun, positive experience,” Bankey said. “I’ve been playing with [the club] for a year now. It’s great to meet new people, make new friends … a lot of fun.”
Wagner also said joining the club made it easier to be a part of the community coming from outside the area.
“I’m from Pennsylvania myself, so coming to YSU, I only knew two people,” Wagner said. “Joining the club sports, and this goes for any club sport, not just my own, but you meet a lot of people that you automatically have a shared interest right off the bat. It makes it really easy to get into the community and get into knowing one another.”
The club contributes to campus involvement by participating in events such as the Student Organization Fair and a yearly food drive, Wagner said.
The club practices Mondays, Wednesdays and occasionally Fridays from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in the gym courts of the Stambaugh Stadium.
In total, there are 18 players in the club, but numbers will decline after the fall semester because of graduating seniors. Wagner said the club ideally tries to have up to 20 players during a season.
If interested in joining or have questions about the club, contact YSU’s Club Sports at [email protected] or Tyler Wagner, president of the volleyball club, at [email protected]. To see the club’s game schedule and highlights, visit its Instagram at @ysu.mensvolleyball
Editor’s note: Michael Sheehan, the head copy editor at The Jambar, is a member of the Men’s Volleyball Club. He has abstained from the editorial process on this specific story.