Volleyball looks to compete in second season

Written by Josiah Kaan
(jkaan@mscd.edu)

The start of a new volleyball season could be heard on the courts in the Physical Education Building Feb. 4 as tryouts for the Metro men’s volleyball club team took place.

“It’s a good opportunity for the college since there is no organized men’s volleyball team,” head coach Glavin Markovits said.

Markovits, who is also assistant coach of the women’s varsity volleyball team, and Debbie Hendricks, head coach of the women’s volleyball team, started this new club sport about a year ago. This is the first season that the team will be seeing competition. The main goals this season are competing in all their matches, as well as working out the kinks that come with a men’s volleyball program, while laying down a solid foundation for the future of the club.

After preparing all fall for competition with multiple tryouts and weekly practices, the young and developing team is excited to face its first opponent Feb. 22, when they start playing in the Rocky Mountain Region Adult Volleyball Tournament Series.

“If the guys who have expressed interest show up, we’re going to be pretty good,” Markovits said.

Michael Nguyen, a standout from the team who joined club volleyball in September of 2008, said that he feels the team will be strong and competitive in the tournaments ahead.

“I would like our team to place in the tournaments that we enter,” Nguyen said. “ I would like to see us improve and have something to look forward to for the future.”

The strength of the team lies in its offense, as the team has a good group of hitters -- like Nguyen, who plays outside hitter -- but has room for improvement when it comes to defense. Working on blocking schemes, ball control and defensive positioning are key elements that the team needs to improve on.

“The defense needs to move with the blockers in a fluid motion to cover the angles that the block will not be able to shut down,” Nguyen said. “Overall, communication will be the key component of a successful season.”

After only seven players showed up to the tryouts Feb. 4, the team is still looking to fill three roster spots. Experienced players who may have missed the tryouts, but still want to play volleyball with a team, are welcome to come to practice, Markovits said. He went on to stress that the team is looking for experienced guys who are serious about playing volleyball and willing to make a valuable contribution to the team. Markovits believes it’s hard to develop a young team while trying to coach different skill levels.
“It’s not fair to them or the team,” Markovits said.

Any players who are interested in playing or trying out for men’s club volleyball can either contact head coach Glavin Markovits at gmarkovi@mscd.edu or show up to practice, which takes place on Wednesdays from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. in the Physical Education Building.