Written By: Audrey Kough, Campus Sportswriter
APR. 1,2023 – Here at Washington & Jefferson College (W&J), there are a variety of intramural sports offered that students could participate in: volleyball, floor hockey, pickleball, and basketball. In the fall of 2022, intramural volleyball was played among the students. With a variety of different teams who signed up to play, the elimination-style tournament started.
Over the course of a couple of weeks, many teams were knocked out and the championship game was right around the corner. The championship game was between the baseball team and the team named “Hot Diggity.” During the championship game, the baseball team won one set, and the team “Hot Diggity” won another, therefore the winner would be determined by the last set. The score stayed very close and it ultimately could have gone either way.
In the end, team “Hot Diggity” was crowned the 2022 Intramural Volleyball Champions. The team consisted of Graceyn Gibbons, MJ McRae, Sean Adamski, Luke Fisher, Nolan Rehrig, Nicole Kondrich, and Zachary Gardner.
Gibbons shared some of her thoughts on the experience of being a part of the championship team. She explained the team dynamic and how that helped their team perform well.
“I think our overall team dynamic was both energetic and trusting,” said Gibbons ‘24. “We also kept high energy throughout our matches, which helped us take some risks in terms of plays and execute them successfully.”
“ I think our overall team dynamic was both energetic and trusting. We also kept high energy throughout our matches, which helped us take some risks in terms of plays and execute them successfully,” - Gibbons ‘24.
Kondrich also shared her perspective on their team. She told how their team was able to adapt to different teams' playing styles.
Kondrich explained, “We always prepared for the games by sizing up the players on the other team to form the best rotation we could.”
In intramural volleyball, there must be a rotation so every player gets some playing time. Every player on the team got playing time and contributed to the success of the team.
“We started to learn which players played well together on our team and would choose our rotation like that,” Kondrich continued. “We went into every game with a blank strategy and would improvise once we saw how the other team played.”
Gibbons ‘24 went on to elaborate on their “energetic and trusting” dynamic, which helped them win their games and ultimately become the champions.
"This helped us win because we all trusted each other’s ability and gave each other the space needed to attack the ball,” she said. "No one was jumping in front of each other to get the ball first...we just respected each other’s space and ability and kept up good communication, which ultimately helped us secure the win.”
Since the team “Hot Diggity” did not have an affiliation with something, there was speculation about how their team was formed.
Gibbons explained how they put their roster together: “Our members were already friends and teammates from a club volleyball team, and then I was asked to join along with another girl because they needed two more members to be able to play and we had experience.”
Lastly, Gibbons shared how the team was feeling going into the last game. With a lot on the line, and the team under pressure, she explained how they were able to capture the win.
“Going in, we were excited and a little nervous. I think everyone’s adrenaline was pumping hard,” she said. “We knew it was going to be a hard fight for the win.”
In the end team “Hot Diggity” did obtain the win to be named the 2022 Intramural Volleyball Champions.
If you are looking for more ways to be involved on W&J’s campus, intramurals would be a great way to accomplish it. Not only do you participate in physical activity you also make connections with people you might not have ever met before.
Gibbons describes her experience in the intramural program saying, “I would describe my experience the W&J intramural program as being fun and supportive... I got to meet so many new and great people, and it was nice to be able to form new friendships while playing volleyball.” Intramurals are a low-maintenance way to get involved. You could discover a new passion for a sport and make a lifelong friendship. But if you don’t believe in the advantages of joining after reading this, Gibbons shares one last message.
She shares, “I would highly recommend joining an intramural team because it gets you out of your comfort zone and lets you meet so many people! The games are fun and low pressure, so everyone is just there to have a good time.”
“I would highly recommend joining an intramural team because it gets you out of your comfort zone and lets you meet so many people! The games are fun and low pressure, so everyone is just there to have a good time.” - Gibbons'24