Encouraged by Dr. Sam Cooper, Doug Beal, Graduate Assistant in the Health and Physical Education department, established the Men’s Club Volleyball. He was a former U.S. National team member and was a participant in the 1970 World Championship.
Men’s Club Volleyball at Bowling Green State University is a part of the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) and holds its home matches at the Anderson Arena in Memorial Hall. The sport is played with two teams of six players separated by a net while trying to score points by grounding a ball on the opposing team's court.
The first meeting of the club brought in about 75 men, although only about 50 of them are still practicing during the week. Much to Doug Beal’s dislike, the club did not have enough balls for each man to practice with, not to mention the difficulty in finding a time and place for the team to practice. Most of the new members are beginners, although there was two experienced players that made co-captains, Mike Kamlenski and Ivan Madar. Unfortunately for the team, Coach Doug Beal had to miss the following season. They did however receive the title as the most successful starting club in the MIVA in late 1971.
The team had a successful season in 1982, with them placing seventh out of 13 teams at the MIVA tournament that was held that the Bowling Green Student Recreation Center. This was the first time BG held the competition and was led by Captain Dan Metelsky and Coach Caren Aiple. This was the fourth year BG played in the MIVA but their best season was in 1979 where they placed second. They finished the season with a 29-10 record. Captain Metelsky contributes the team's success to the University club sports program and its director Warren Scholler for the funds and support given to the team.
In the 1986 season, the men’s club beat the University of Toledo with Mike Payne, who was captain and named the star of the team. The team then competed in the finals of the MIVA, but unfortunately lost to Wisconsin. For the second time, Payne was selected to the MIVA all-star team as well as his performance earning him the Commissioner’s Award.
Due to the success at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where the U.S. Men’s Volleyball team was collecting gold, the sport was gaining more interest. The BGSU Men’s Club Volleyball in the 1989 season’s weak points for the team was the passing. They also had Captain Craig Davic coach until they bring in Coach Bill Boyle in late February.
The 1994 team was coached by Jessica Andrasko, who was also the co-captain of the Women’s Varsity Volleyball team. The president at the time, Brian Yale, had said that BG never competed at the national level. In order to raise money, the team put on a “Meet-the-Team” where people could pay to get a team picture and autograph. The team also works varsity games and sells items to raise money.
In 1999, the team held tryouts and open gym in Eppler South in order to get more members and make people aware that volleyball is not just a women’s sport. The previous year, the team placed second in the silver bracket in the MIVA. They also won first at the All-Ohio Tournament at Ohio Northern University for the past three years, as well as taking first in the Ohio Wesleyan tournament. The team felt they needed to rebuild themselves and so they took the previous year to do so.
A few years later, the club was paying its own way as well as having to share the gym with the cheerleaders. The coach in 2002 was former BG volleyball player Kris Perorda. Each year, the national tournament is head in a major U.S. city and is sponsored by the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association. According to NIRSA, BG is ranked at number 22 in their Division 2 rankings. In 2006, there was no men’s varsity volleyball team, as well as no coach for the club team after Coach Cheryl Fulton left after graduation. The team is very competitive and held its own tournament November of this season, led by co-captains Brian White and Bryan Burvis.
Currently in 2017, the team is open to undergraduate students and they hold open gyms and tryouts to select at most 25 players for the club. The club meets in Eppler South Gymnasium with President Nick Suboyu.
For more Recreation and Wellness History visit https://www.bgsu.edu/recwell/telling-our-story/history.html.
Reference:
[Men’s Club Volleyball]. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://orgsync.com/10217/chapter
Men’s club spikers host tournament. (1982, April 16). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 3984). P. 5. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/3984
BG club volleyball ends successful 29-10 year. (1982, April 20). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 3985). P. 5. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/3985
Volleyball - ‘up up and away.’ (1971. January 13). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 2542). P. 8. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/2542
Spikers count on experience. (1971, November 17). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 2652). P. 8. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/2652
Falcons lose volleyball finale. (1986, April 17). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 4518). P. 11. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/4518
Club volleyball triumphs. (1986, February 21). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 4491). P. 7. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/4491/
Spikers face Midwest foes. (1989, April 12). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 4932). P. 8. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/4932
Men’s club volleyball holding open tryouts. (1994, September 23). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 5734). P. 10. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/5734
Falcon Club Volleyball Meet-the-Team (7 p.m.). (1997, September 9). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 6200). P. 3. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/6200
1989-1990 B.G.S.U. Men’s Club Volleyball Schedule. (1990, January 12). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 5022). P. 5. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/5022
Men’s club team ready to go on the attack. (1999, September 2). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 6515). P. 6. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/6515
Club spikers just love to play. (2002, March 27). [Newspaper article]. The B-G News. BGSU Student Newspaper. Bowling Green State University. (Book 6939). P. 1, 9. http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/6939
(2006, November 8). [Newspaper article]. Club volleyball slides under the radar. BG Falcon Media, Retrieved from http://www.bgfalconmedia.com/club-volleyball-slides-under-the-radar/article_d1b48619-4354-5aad-a98c-056c7a1a20c4.html
