Volleyball holds fundraiser to support team

The clock was ticking down to the last seconds, as the volleyball was right over the net.

"The guy just whipped the ball," said 20-year-old Norwich volleyball player April Byllaardt. "The player on the other team just turned around and took the ball right to the face," said the junior history major from Stormville, N.Y. "Then the game was over."

There were many laughs, aches and pains shared by the students in a volleyball tournament organized by the Norwich volleyball team.

Many students participated in the annual volleyball tournament fundraiser on March 26, to raise money for the team's fall season.

"It's basically just a fundraiser that we do every year to get money for the team," said volleyball player Thea Evans, a 21-year-old senior communications major from Ruidoso, N.M.

Byllaardt said, "The money goes to things like our shoes and new jerseys. If we didn't make this money, we would have to buy our own."

Volleyball player Lindsey Hettman, a 21-year-old junior nursing major from De Pere, Wis., said, "We have to do fundraisers to pay for expenses, like traveling. We thought we'd do something fun for everyone to do. We've been doing this for about four years now."

Byllaardt said the fundraiser was "absolutely a success."

"We had about 10 teams that came out and made about $270, and everyone had a lot of fun," Evans said.

Participant Bryon Stueber, a 22-year-old senior criminal justice major from Orlando, Fla., said he had a blast. "It was fun spiking the ball and getting people in the face!" said Stueber.

Daniel Unright, a 22-year-old sports medicine and health sciences senior from Albany, N.Y., said, "It was a lot of fun. A highlight for me, I would say was just being crazy and being in a team atmosphere and hanging out with my friends."

The Norwich volleyball team also had fun, according to Hettman. "We had the teams play for a certain amount of time instead of playing to a certain amount of points, so we got to go through more teams and keep it even for all of them," Hettman said. "It was fun to get everyone together. We had a lot of people come play from corps, civilians, basketball team and the football team. It was a lot of fun."

"We practiced about 10 minutes before, but we had a great time. We had a lot of fun. It was a great way to get together with friends and play some volleyball," said Unright. "It was a good break to get your mind off of everything going on like school and graduation."

Stueber had a hard time thinking of his favorite moment at the fundraiser, "There's so many to choose from. I'd have to say, making some of the spikes was the best part, and then obviously winning was a great feeling," Stueber said. "I've always been a competitor since I was little; I figured I'd take on another challenge with the volleyball tournament."

Evans said, "The grand prize was a gift certificate to the Rustic. (The winning team) actually liked it, and got really excited about that."

Stueber said, "After the game, we went to the Rustic and spent it on drinks for our team, since we're all 21. We thought we deserved a little victory drink."

At the end of the tournament, the Norwich volleyball team played the winning team.

"We kicked their butt, though!" Hettman said.

The fundraiser was a success for all involved.

"The team had a lot of fun, also, hosting the event. It was very successful, we made quite a bit of money, but we still have a long way to go," Hettman said.