The preferred habitat of cougars may be mountain canyons with dense brush, but who says they can’t have a little fun at the beach?
In April, the College competed in the inaugural Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships, held in Gulf Shores, Ala. They finished fourth in the team competition, and – in the individual pairs tournament – Elyse Chubb ’12/Lizzie Theesfield and Emily Shelton/Kelly Kolich tied for ninth place.
Already recognized as an Olympic sport, sand volleyball just finished its first season as an emerging NCAA sport with the participation of 15 Division I teams. Once 40 schools have fielded sand volleyball teams, the NCAA will take over the sport’s championship.
At the College, all 11 of the sand volleyball players also competed for the Cougars’ indoor team, which has a fall season.
Jason Kepner, head coach for both teams, is proud of the Cougars’ performance on the sand, where they posted a 4-3 record in dual meets for the year, with victories over Mercer University, Florida Atlantic University, North Florida University and Tulane University.
“Playing in the hot sun and running in the sand takes its toll on you much faster,” says Kepner. “You really have to be in much better shape to play sand volleyball.”
Beyond the increased physical demands, sand volleyball players must adjust to a more intense game with increased responsibility. Indoors, one shares the court with five teammates. On sand, a player has just one teammate and ends up handling the ball much more often.
Kepner says his players enjoyed the change of pace provided by sand volleyball and envisions it becoming a very popular NCAA sport in the years to come.
“I think they loved sand volleyball over the alternative, which is spring practice,” Kepner laughs. “It’s a great way to play volleyball year-round without getting burned out.”
