By Sean Savage
@SavSean13
Alden Street is home to some of the best Division III volleyball in the nation. As of October 2023, a new version of the sport has surfaced at Springfield College – women’s club volleyball.
In just its first month, the club has taken off en route to finding much success, just as the varsity program has seen in recent years.
“If this is what we are capable of in our first year, I am very excited to see where the program will go in future years,” said club Vice President Mac Fornili, a senior.
However, to get the club off the ground, the last academic year was filled with a lot of busy work to prove there would be enough interest.
“The entirety of last year was just collecting signatures to show that we could have a program,” Fornili said. “Thankfully, this year, we were able to host our first tryout.”
With the numbers accumulated, the tryouts split players into two teams: maroon and white, with maroon being the more competitive team – although both teams get to compete in tournaments.
As the teams were made, players slowly found their groove. “First practice was first practice: most of us have not played volleyball in so long.” Fornili said. “It was a lot of knocking off rust.”
Many former varsity players saw an opportunity to get back onto the court for the game they love. For junior Zoe Farmakopoulos, who quit the varsity team after her first year, club volleyball rekindled her love for the game.
Her favorite part so far has been the welcoming atmosphere:
“It is a lot more laid back than varsity,” Farmakopoulos said. “The competitiveness is still there, but it is just a different environment.”
For others, club volleyball gives a sense of déjà vu to high school. Despite many new faces around one another, the team has been acclimating well.
“We might be brand new, but we already feel like a family,” Fornili said.
Now, a month later and three tournaments down, there is a clear distillation between a somewhat rough first practice and the team’s most recent tournament at Sacred Heart University.
“We played really well and were super cohesive,” Fornili said. “There were less unforced errors than there have been in the past, which is our weak point.”
Farmakopoulos attested to the growth through the short span of time.
“It is so cool to see the improvement we have made,” Farmakopoulos said. “Especially from the white team. We played them, and they took a set from us.”
Another great aspect of club volleyball is that it comes with much less pressure.
“A lot of varsity sports rule by fear,” Fornili said. “With club, I never have to be stressed with how I am going to do, and I never have to feel like someone is over my shoulder writing notes about what I did wrong.”
Before each game, the team huddles up and goes through its pre-game ritual to set the standard for the match.
“We do this thing where we touch fingers and go, ‘Fun on three: one, two, three – fun,’” Farmakopoulos said.
Their routine serves as a healthy reminder that at the end of the day – despite the outcome – it all boils down to having a good time.
“We are there to have fun, but purposeful fun,” Fornili said.
Looking ahead, the club will participate in a few more tournaments until the end of the semester to cultivate more experience. Both teams will return early from winter break for pre-season, preparing them for the spring season – lasting until the end of March.
“This year for us has been getting our feet under us as a program,” Fornili said. “But, there are definitely club regionals we can qualify for.”
Farmakopoulos wants people to know about the culture the program is starting to build.
“We are not here to target you for making mistakes,” she said. “We are a laid-back team and like to go with the flow.”
Photo Courtesy of @sc_womensclubvolleyball Instagram