Volleyball is a popular sport, yet it is mostly played by women at the collegiate level. MSU’s Men’s Club team wants to bring the sport to everybody.
Volleyball is a popular college sport, and teams such as Michigan State’s are popular with fans. But the sport skews primarily female. According to the NCAA, only 3.5% of high school athletes play men’s varsity volleyball at the collegiate level.
The number is lower for athletes in Michigan, due to the low amount of opportunities and support for the sport in the state.
There are males who want to play, and the MSU men’s club volleyball team has been giving athletes the chance to continue playing at a high level. They also fulfill their mission of growing the sport and spreading knowledge.
Senior Keenan Cleaver plays middle hitter and is also the club president. He’s a Southern California native, where volleyball is a huge sport at all levels.
He’s been a part of the team all four years at MSU, and has played a role in advocating for the growth of volleyball in Michigan.
“For over 30 years, this club has basically been the forefront in teaching guys how to play the sport of volleyball here in Michigan,” Cleaver said. “It’s really sad to see that over all these years the opportunities were taken away, from not just the club, but the sport itself.”
The team has been around since 1989, and has been highly successful. The club has a .750-win percentage over three decades, has produced All-Americans at all positions and many professional beach volleyball players.
The club is divided into four different sub teams: Green, White, Posse and Greenhorns. They are based on variations of skill level: Green is the most experienced and Greenhorns being the least experienced. They have a spot for everyone who tries out. Each team has a develops a relationship by watching practices and hanging out outside of volleyball.
Paul Galins is a sophomore and sets for the Green team. He said he enjoys playing against the other teams because of how they push each other to be stronger.
“When we practice against other teams, it’s competitive which helps both teams because that is the most realistic thing we get to in-game tournament experience,” Galins said.
Senior Trystan Melnyk plays outside hitter for the Green team, and believes the team’s unique chemistry brings everyone together in a special way.
“We have a pretty good dynamic, I think everyone tries to hang out with one another,” Melnyk said. “We invite people from the other teams to come and play with us and we go down to play with them to help out and we’ve developed some pretty good relationships over the years.”
Many of the players learned about the team through an event called Sparticipation, where teams and clubs showcase its accomplishments as well as its specific bond.
Freshman Quin Strausbaugh plays libero and is in his first year with Team White. He knew once he had learned about the team that he had to go and try out.
“Back in Ohio it wasn’t really an option for me because we didn’t have it much, I had to drive quite a way to get there,” Strausbaugh said. “So once I had the option to play it in college, I had to take that chance.”
Freshman Urvil Patel plays outside hitter and is also in his first year with Team White. He’s loved the team’s unity and brotherhood.
“The whole team is close,” Patel said. “It’s a nice experience because you can talk to anybody, you can go have dinner with anyone and even if you see somebody that you see in the club and their not even on the same team as you, you’ll get a nice conversation.”
Aside from competing in tournaments throughout the season, the team also hosts different events, programs and youth camps.
“We’ve partnered up with a couple people in the Lansing area to run camps for youth kids to teach them how to play volleyball,” Cleaver said. “It’s been really fortunate enough for me to grow and spread the sport and to see that interest, especially at the young age.”
