Sometimes, one game makes all the difference.
For the ASU club volleyball team, that game came at the end of the national tournament in Dallas, Texas last year when it defeated the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Junior Matthew Huston, captain of the ASU club volleyball team, said the victory has been the most memorable part of his ASU club sport experience.
“They were the two-year defending champions and we and knocked them into the silver bracket,” Huston said. “It was a really close game and we came from behind in the final match to win; it was pretty awesome.”
Since he has been involved in the program, he has been able to participate in the growing success of his team and experience the changes to the program as a whole.
“I have seen many changes to the sport club program and all of them have been for the better,” he said. “We have had a lot more guys coming out to play for the team.”
So many that this year, the team actually made an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ team.
Sport clubs, by definition, are student organizations that compete on an intercollegiate basis in an activity of their choosing.
Clubs are required to be a member of a national governing body that provides guidelines and regulations pertaining to their competition.
According to Chad Ellsworth, assistant director of Intramural Sports and Sport Clubs, ASU’s programs were designed to provide a positive influence on students.
“Sport clubs provide opportunities for all students to be engaged on campus, whether through direct involvement or as a spectator of their favorite team,” Ellsworth said. “For many of these athletes, their commitment to the club is one of the real connections they have to ASU outside of their field of study. They take enormous pride in representing ASU and do so to the best of their ability.”
But the athletes aren’t the only ones to benefit from this program.
“ASU benefits from this as well,” Ellsworth said. “Every time our students travel to another part of the country in ASU colors, the school benefits.”
Ellsworth said the numbers of students participating in sport clubs has decreased as a result of distinguishing instructional classes from club sports.
Traditionally, sport clubs have focused more on competition and the pursuit of championships in league and tournament play. These competitions take place on regional, national and international levels, and students that participate in sport clubs are often focused on winning and performing at high athletic levels.
These athletes practice up to five times a week and compete on the weekends. They also host competitions on campus, which any student can come to watch free of charge.
The University’s program recognizes 28 sports, including lacrosse, rugby, rowing, archery and field hockey.
Reach the reporter at emiley.darling@asu.edu.