The Slammers claim co-rec volleyball title
With a roster two players short, The Slammers battled injuries, ceding a win to an athletic Team Jesse Parker in the intramural Co-Rec volleyball championship Tuesday night.
Both teams won earlier in the day to earn a spot in the championship game. The Slammers beat the Nappy Nard-Dogs, while Team Jesse Parker knocked the Nectarines out of the tournament. The Slammers continued their run with a 3-1 victory over Jesse Parker for the championship.
The Slammers are no strangers to a short roster. They lost a key player to an injury early on.
“We had to lose a player which puts us down to four players,” said The Slammers’ Miles Maynes. “That was a little concerning at first, but it turned out good, because we learned to trust each other.”
Since co-rec intramural rules require teams to play equal numbers of men and women at all times, the Slammers had to bench one man to keep the ratio even. They rotated so each player was on the court for two games, but the technicality forced them to play with just four players.
“It was hard to adjust playing against six players,” said Slammers back row hitter Hali Hesley.
The Slammers defeated Team Jesse Parker, which has a few familiar faces on its lineup. JP is led by current Aggie basketball player Preston Medlin and former player Matt Formosiano.
“We played a very athletic team,” Maynes said. “We just played smart and put the ball where we wanted it.”
The Slammers got off to an early 25-17 win in the first game, despite being without their best player — Maynes.
In the second game, Team Jesse Parker found some early offense and jumped to a quick 5-1 lead. The Slammers battled back, though, to tie the game at six and then take the lead. The two teams traded leads before JP went on an 8-1 run to take the second game, 25-15.
Maynes returned for the third game. Team Jesse Parker kept the score close, but ultimately fell short when the Slammers went on a big run led by Hesley to take the game, 15-7.
“Hali played amazing, bar none,” said Slammer Clark Knapp.
Team JP again put pressure on The Slammers in the fourth, tying the game at 5, then again at 6. The Slammers took the game and the match with a 15-12, despite a late run by team JP that cut the lead to two, at 14-12. Maynes scored the final five points for The Slammers on four kills and a block.
“It’s pretty great, I’ve lost in the semi-finals every year,” Hesley said. “Now I’m a senior, and I finally won.”
– meredith.kinney@aggiemail.usu.edu