The Beginning of Centenary Men’s Volleyball
Photo by Emma Oertling
Something embedded in every Centenary student's mind, from orientation to graduation, is that anyone can start a club or organization on campus. To start any club or organization at Centenary you first need a faculty advisor, five members willing to be in the club, and a petition signed by 25 peers to show that there is an interest on campus for your organization. Starting an organization is a great way to get involved on campus; you could even start your own sports team, which is exactly how our Men’s Volleyball team started.
In the Fall of 2020, Centenary officially added a competitive men’s volleyball club team to its athletics program, making history as the first school in Louisiana to do such a thing. The team is set to play their second season this year playing matches against LA Tech and will have a chance to make the postseason as a part of the Southern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (SIVA).
Senior Daniel Hernandez led the charge to get a men’s volleyball team on campus and has since been named captain of the team. One big issue that the team faced when first finding their legs was getting funding; club sports are usually expected to come up with some of the funding on their own. Luckily for the Gents, our former athletic director Marcus Manning was able to get the team’s uniforms paid for, as well as appointing the women’s volleyball head coach Ashley McDonaugh as head coach of the men’s team.
After most of the financial issues were out of the way the next step was to find enough players to have a team. Daniel first looked to recruit people who had previous experience in team sports; the team currently has 11 players on its roster.
“First, it just started out as getting in touch with friends who weren’t already committed to a spring sport, so that's where I started was with friends and friends of friends, and eventually here, we are,” said Daniel Hernandez when asked how he went about getting members for the team.
Most players on the team had never played volleyball before joining the team. Having the whole team learn a new sport and how to play with each other has not been easy, but the team's chemistry has become incredibly strong because of it. It’s never easy learning something new, but thankfully the players have found a way to have fun while doing it.
When asked how it’s been joining a new sports team senior, Devin Bureau, someone who has never played volleyball, had this to say, “It’s been really fun actually! I get to socialize with people I normally don’t get to talk to and be a part of an environment that I wouldn’t normally be in. Our team honestly has really great chemistry, and we all get along really well.”
The quick establishment of the men’s volleyball team has a lot to do with the women’s volleyball team, which played a part in helping the program get running. The women’s team has served as role models for the under-experienced Gents, scrimmaging them in practices and offering veteran advice. Our women’s team historically has had a lot of success on the court, and so for the men’s team to work so closely with them can only mean good things for the future of the Gents. Who knows, in a few years our men’s volleyball could be at the level of our women’s.
The men’s volleyball team is still finding their footing as a program, they are still looking for new players to join the team, and they are looking to make a name for themselves on campus. Anyone interested in trying out volleyball still has the option to do so on campus. That’s what freshman Tarif Islam, a former high school tennis player, did after finding out Centenary no longer offered tennis.
“I didn’t come into the team expecting to fully commit, they held a few open gyms, and I already knew I was interested but those open sessions, which I think are really important to starting a club sport, really helped me know for sure I want to continue with this program,” explained the former tennis player.
Another vital part of building a successful sports program is campus support. The Gents' next upcoming home match is Tuesday, February 22nd in the Gold Dome against the LA Tech Bulldogs. Be sure to come out and support this blooming program and witness the beginning of history. You can find the entire men’s volleyball schedule at: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mvball/2021-22/schedule