Men’s volleyball goes 2-2 in opening weekend
Men’s volleyball started off their regular seasonplay this weekend in Salt Lake City with tournament play against native Utah teams.
Participating teams included Salt Lake Community College, University of Utah, Weber State University, Utah Valley State College and Brigham Young University Alumni.
All club teams, these guys take time out of their busy student and life schedules to compete and build new relationships for future play.
“We all get along,” team Captain Logan Oates said. “It’s kind of like a small community, all the volleyball players, just because we all come here to play for fun.”
Starting off Friday strong with victories over SLCC and WSU, USU managed an even record of 2-2 for their first day of play. But this wasn’t enough to keep them in the winner’s bracket; the team looked to Saturday for a chance at redemption.
Ready to take on their first opponent Saturday, the Aggies assumed their playing positions to take on Utah at 9 a.m. Tournament rules had the men playing three games. The winner of two of those games would advance on, higher up in the bracket. Unfortunately, USU could not hold on for win and faced one-game elimination in the loser’s bracket.
“Our passing was way off,” team Vice President Wyatt Lamborn said. “Hitters were on. I think we just need to be consistent. If we get a standard and everybody knows what their doing, which is hard because we’re constantly changing, we’ll get better.
Saturday’s game two for the Aggies against SLCC was set for 11 a.m. Taking a warm-up running lap and group cheer before starting, the Aggies looked for some improvement on the day.
With the first serve from USU falling short of the net, the team regrouped, assumed their positions and prepared for play.
Scoring went back and forth between teams as the game continued. “We don’t let the ball touch the ground over here,” a teammate echoed through the gym. In the end, SLCC gained the advantage, defeating USU 25-19 and removing them from the tournament permanently.
“I think it went pretty well,” Coach Jim McCaughey said. “We gave everybody a chance to play, which is important, and doesn’t necessarily lend itself to knocking the world down, but tends to build a program. So we were very successful that way.”
Next up for men’s volleyball is a game against Utah Jan. 26 in Salt Lake City.
-eawads@cc.usu.edu