The American University men’s club volleyball team won a tournament in Bender Arena on March 24, featuring schools from in and around the Washington, D.C. area. Two teams from American — A and B — played against two teams from George Mason and teams from Georgetown, George Washington and Mary Washington.
The tournament started with two pools of play, the first featuring the Eagles’ A-Team, GMU’s B-Team and Georgetown’s team. The other pool included GW, GMU’s A-Team, Mary Washington and American’s B-Team.
Men’s club volleyball meets twice weekly, and multiple members praised their community. Xavier Singh, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and player for American’s B-Team, joined the men’s club volleyball in the fall of his freshman year and said he holds “no regrets” about joining the team. He continued, saying, “Practice for the team is the cornerstone of my exercise, but it’s also a fun social space to come hang out with my friends. It’s always a fun time to get a workout in with a sport you love and people you like being around.”
After the pool play was finished and the dust settled, the Eagles’ A-Team sat atop their pool, going 2-0 in their matches without dropping a set to GMU or Georgetown. The Revolutionaries won the second pool, going 3-0.
After pool play concluded, all teams were placed into a bracket, with American’s A-Team receiving a bye in the first round of tournament play, each game in the bracket being a 1-set sudden-death matchup.
The quarterfinals unfolded, with GW moving on over the Eagles’ B-Team, GMU’s B-Team defeating Mary Washington, and Georgetown’s team taking out Mason’s A-Team. The semifinals featured a rout of the Revolutionaries from American, and the Hoyas moving on once again against Mason’s B-Team. The final was another blowout for American, crowning them the champions.
Thomas Dixon, a freshman in the School of International Service, was grateful for the existence of the team, saying “I love volleyball, and being able to play after high school means the world to me.”
Owen Krzywda, president of men’s club volleyball, was ecstatic after the tournament win, noting that this was the first tournament American’s team has won in his time with the group. He also expressed happiness with the space they built for the tournament, which took place in Bender Arena through ongoing construction. Through that obstacle, the stands were still full of fans, friends and family of the players for every team that could attend. Krzywda said, “We got a lot of people from players reaching out to people they knew, and it’s always a better environment when friends of the team and the community can show up.”
Krzywda had high praise for the mentality of the team saying “Our new guys show enthusiasm to getting better and developing, it makes practice a semi-competitive but encouraging space where new and old alike can improve their game.”
On Apr. 17, the team traveled to Kansas City, Missouri for the NCVF Volleyball Championships, where they competed against teams from all around the United States and Canada.
“This team is a dedicated group of guys,” Krzywda said, “we’re hyper-focused on getting as much as we can out of every set and match, their determination is amazing.”
This article was edited by Penelope Jennings, Delaney Hoke and Abigail Pritchard. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Ariana Kavoossi.
