By Pasha Chandra
Hoya Staff Writer
Georgetown’s women’s club volleyball team has made it to the playoffs in every tournament in which they participated this year. With a record of 57-28, including a win against No. 1 ranked James Madison, they are well on their way to Nationals in Kansas City, Mo.
In light of this success, many take for granted the one thing that sets these girls apart. They have no coach.
“Being coached by your teammates can sometimes be difficult when it comes to discipline,” Yuri Jung (COL ’05) said.
The girls’ hardships do not end there. They get last priority when reserving a court for practice at Yates Field House. Some practices can begin as late as 10 p.m. and go on for upwards of two hours.
“The girls have done a great job dealing with this problem,” Jung said. “But a lot of times it puts a strain on your plans and schoolwork.”
For team members, practices are only a part of commitment necessary for success. The team is not part of a formal league or conference, so they drive in vans to tournaments on the weekends all along the East Coast. The long journeys necessary to get to some of these tournaments have proven to be so arduous that the girls leave a day ahead and stay at a hotel, just so they can get some rest.
“It is a big time commitment, especially away from the girls’ social lives,” Jung said.
Doing well at nationals is the team’s top priority. Club volleyball teams from all over the nation will converge on Kansas City to determine their rankings for the following year.
“Last year, we did not do as well as we had hoped,” Jung said.
The girls have one last tournament in Maryland standing between them and Nationals. The volleyball team has formed a special team for Nationals which has begun practicing an additional practice a week on top of the three days a week they already practice. Jung cites more penalties for missing practices as a driving factor for the team’s success.
“We have gotten an excellent commitment from all the girls which has allowed us to play as well as we are,” Jung said. “It has taken our entire team to get to where we are right now.”
