The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

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Sand Volleyball gains popularity at Athens Drive

Athens Drive sand volleyball gained popularity since 2013’s participation for the second season, as practices and competitions commence.

This will be the second season that Athens Drive has participated in the North Carolina High School Sand Volleyball Association (NCHSSVA).  The NCHSSVA was established in late 2012, and its goal is to make sand volleyball a sanctioned sport in high school athletics.  In order for the NCHSSVA to recognize sand volleyball as a sanctioned sport in high schools, 25% of high schools in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) must have a sand volleyball club.  Inspired by the growth in popularity of lacrosse across the East Coast, the NCHSSVA hopes interest in sand volleyball will rise in the same fashion.

“Our goal is in five to ten years that there will be enough interest in the sport of high school sand volleyball that it will be sanctioned by the NCHSAA,” said Joy Daniels, coach of Broughton’s sand volleyball club in an interview with SouthWest Wake News.

Sand volleyball differs from indoor volleyball in that teams play in pairs (in indoor volleyball teams consist of six players on the court) and players have more versatile talents on the court instead of specializing in a specific position.  The balls also tend to be lighter, softer and bigger than regular volleyballs so that the wind can be used to one’s advantage.  As for the court, it is smaller (16m x 8m) than a regular court (18m x 9m) and there is no “attack line” which would normally be found three meters behind and parallel to the center line on an indoor court.  At this line, players are normally separated into “back row players” and “front row players,” but since there are only two players per side in sand volleyball, it is irrelevant.

Also, high school sand volleyball is coed, as both girls and boys are eligible to play. The Athens Drive team has about 12-14 players in total, 6 of whom are male.

“Sand volleyball gives guys a chance to play more, since we don’t have a guys indoor volleyball team,” said Jennifer Reeder, the Athens sand volleyball coach.

To win a match in indoor volleyball, a team must reach 25 points first (which wins the set) and win three sets.  In sand volleyball, the match consists of only three sets, and the team that reaches 21 points first for two of the sets (“best-in-three”) wins the match.

Although Athens competes against 33 other NC schools (versus 9 last year), including Broughton High, Cardinal Gibbons, Apex High, Carrboro High and Middle Creek, the members mostly play for fun instead of competition.

“Since there is not as much commitment, or recognition, to sand volleyball, the club is more for fun.  It gives the kids a chance to play outside and more opportunities to practice and improve,” said Reeder.

This year will be the first season that schools can have distinguished Junior Varsity and Varsity teams if there are enough players.  Typically, teams consist of about 10 players.  Usually those players are divided into three teams of two and extra players help to avoid scheduling conflicts.

The NCHSSVA allows clubs to practice whenever they feel appropriate, but competitions are held from mid-March to May.  Athens Drive will hold practice at Carolina Pines on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:45-4:45 p.m.  There will be various matches held throughout April and May.  For specific dates and times, visit Reeder’s class website, under the “Sand-Volleyball” tab, or email her at [email protected].

“The best part is that sand volleyball allows players to play outside and to play more!” said Reeder.

 

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