By Jessica Landman
The volleyball club here on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus is an attraction for a large number of students for a plethora of reasons.
The volleyball club is the largest student run club on campus with over 40 official members and many more unregistered students that come to play. On Wednesday, they average around 40 players that show up, but the other days are around 20 people.
Members attend volleyball every week for various reasons including the social aspect of getting together with others and an outlet for stress that comes with college.
“Athletically it keeps me in shape. I don’t visit the gym as much as I probably should and it keeps me healthy,” junior volleyball player Malik Lopez said. “Friendship wise as well. I’ve met a lot of new people here.”
Sophomore Hannah Lawrence has been going to volleyball for almost a full year. She said, “It’s such a stress reliever. I come here to play and have fun and try not to get hit in the face with a ball.”
There is also significant work that goes into running such a large club as well. President Thomas Wigger has been in the leadership position for the club since the spring semester of 2022.
“In terms of day to day activities, I need to put up the nets,” Wigger said. “I need to make sure that everyone is signing forms that are actually in the I need to make teams. I need to make sure people aren’t playing basketball and frisbee and make sure people are actually playing volleyball and doing hitting lines, and I need to set up IM leagues and I need to set up merch if people want merch, and I need to coordinate events with Melissa, who’s the director of rec sports.”
Although it is a significant amount of work, Wigger said that he took on the position to make sure the club kept going, but also to help it grow. He also took on the position because of his love for volleyball and what playing means to him.
“I never played or knew that much about the sport before I got here to Plattsburgh, but I really enjoy it and it has really quickly become one of my favorite sports and I have met a lot of really cool people through it,” Wigger said.
The two vice presidents help with the work of running the club as well though. Makaila Maier and Leah Willbrant are in their first semester of being co-vice presidents. They help the president with the everyday tasks of collecting paperwork and helping with merchandise projects they have been putting together.
This is Maier’s second semester in the club. She played volleyball in high school and she wanted to continue playing but not under the pressure of playing for the school.
“I still want to show my love and passion for the sport and the volleyball club allows me to teach other people who don’t know how to play volleyball as well as play with other people who also have a lot of experience,” Maier said. “It gives me a wide range of people from a wide range of backgrounds.”
The SUNY Plattsburgh volleyball club meets every Sunday and Wednesday in the athletic gym located in Memorial Gym. They also play on Fridays in the recreation gym in Memorial or on the beach court behind Memorial, weather permitting.
Sundays run from noon to 2 p.m., Fridays are from 4 to 6 p.m. and Wednesdays have just recently been changed to 6 to 8 p.m.
Anyone interested in trying out volleyball for the first time or rediscovering their love for the sport is welcome to join any session.
