The Augustana club volleyball team has participated in a series of tournaments in order to prepare for the club national championship on April 12. The team is composed mostly of First-Years and intermediate players who are still learning the basics of the game. Despite this, they have performed well in their games, putting up a good fight against more experienced teams.

Luis Navarrete, junior and captain of the team, shared that the team practices three times a week for two hours each day. The team’s practices focus on improving their weaknesses and building up their skills. 

“While preparing for the nationals we’d have practices three times a week: Sunday, Monday and Wednesday from 8 to 10 up at PepsiCo,” Navarrete said.

With all the different backgrounds and identities on the club team, some people may not be able to see eye to eye. However, Navarrete emphasized that his teammates find a common ground on the court and support each other in every way possible.

“Everybody has their own identity, but when it comes to practicing, everyone jokes around and has a good time. We have inside jokes, and when anyone is down, we help each other in any way we can,” Navarrete said.

Despite the unity on the team, communication is something that the team is working to improve, especially on the court. 

“People don’t realize it, but volleyball is a communications sport, and people are like, is it really, and question it, but no, it’s the technicality of the game. It’s been built up to communicating one way or another, [it] doesn’t matter if it’s signs or words, you have to communicate,” Navarrete said.

Despite the challenges, the team is looking forward to nationals and is excited about the progress they have made this season. Navarrete believes that the team has a good shot at ranking in a really good place at nationals if they can work on their weaknesses and continue to improve their skills.

As the libero, Navarrete is responsible for digging the balls, making the pass and trying to collect more attacks and spikes. He is also in charge of subbing in and out for a player who needs to improve their defense.

“I’m just, like, the guy with a different color jersey that everybody thinks forgot what color jersey they were wearing that day, but no, that’s how it is,” Navaratte said.

Navarrete emphasized that volleyball is a physically and mentally demanding sport, especially during tournaments where they may have to play multiple games in one day or drive for hours to get to the venue. Despite the fatigue, the team is motivated by their love for the sport and their desire to improve. 

“At the end of the day, you’re done playing, you’re going home, like, all dirty and stuff, tired, but you still got to drive, so it’s hard, but we do it because we love the sport basically,” Navarrete said.

The college volleyball team may be a new and relatively inexperienced team, but they have shown great potential and determination. 

“We’ll always try to focus on what we’re lacking to make sure that we can improve on that,” Navarrete said. 

The team continues to work hard and improve their skills, and the team’s progress this season is a testament to their dedication and hard work.

Junior Nicholas Phillips shared his thoughts on the upcoming nationals tournament. 

“We have nationals coming up, and I don’t think we won any games in the previous nationals. If we could win two to three games, that’d be awesome. We’ll take that,” Philips said. 

Phillips acknowledged that the team has faced challenges this season, particularly with injuries and other commitments.  

“We have four middles, and you need two of them to play. Three of them are injured, so that has been a challenge. A lot of our team members are involved in other commitments such as varsity teams. I myself am in the swim team, so club volleyball isn’t their top priority. We have also had multiple injuries,” Philips said.

Despite the challenges, Phillips believes that the team has a strong bond and is motivated to improve. 

“We have a good bond together. We have a young team, and I don’t think we’re losing anybody, so it’s gonna be the same team next year, so the bond will be stronger. The new freshmen players look very promising. They will be menacing next year once they heal,” Philips said.

Phillips echoed Navarrete’s sentiments, adding that he is working on not making any “dumb errors” and playing the smarter move. Despite the challenges and demanding nature of volleyball, both Navarrete and Phillips agree that playing the sport is a highlight of their week and a nice break from their other commitments.