It is a Thursday night after a long week, and dozens of students have made the trek in the rain to Kenyon Hall for Intramural (IM) Volleyball. With high ceilings and a superb soundtrack, one feels the spirit of the games as soon as they walk into the gym.
With 18 teams spread out over two divisions, IM Volleyball is no casual meet-up. The regular season spans from Sept. 12 to Oct. 31, and games occur every Tuesday from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. and Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m. Teams play to the best of three games, with the first two going to 25 points and third going to 15. Six players can be on the court for each team at once, but team rosters range from six to 12 players with just one member of varsity volleyball allowed.
Teams form in unique ways, and many last over multiple seasons. Garrett Schmid ’25, one of the original members of “besteambesteambesteam” explains that “Over the past couple of years the team has grown from only four people showing up to a game to having 12 or more members. Other intramural sports or schools emphasize the competition and weed out those who are not already athletes. Vassar’s IM volleyball has been the rare opportunity that allows friends who are unfamiliar to the sport to be welcomed and supported while still being able to compete. My volleyball IM team was how I first bonded with some of my closest friends here and has been an outlet that has consistently brought some amazing people into my life!” Perhaps limiting my journalistic integrity, I became partial to “besteambesteambesteam” with their contagious enthusiasm and exciting style of play. In an extremely tight three set match against another previously undefeated team, Schmid and his team got a step closer to a fourth consecutive championship.
There is room for everyone at IM Volleyball, regardless of whether their goal is to win or just to have fun and spend time together. Alejandra Robins ’24, a member of Vassar’s swim team and captain of her team “Fish Out of Water 2.0,” says that her team is made up of all of the members of the swim team and one member of the volleyball team. “Somehow, even though we basically never win we are able to leave each game with hope to win the next one.” “Fish Out of Water 2.0” won their first game in a season and a half last week in a thrilling match against the “Vassar College Weinbergs.”
Some teams provide opportunities for varsity teams to bond outside of their sport. “Fish Out of Water 2.0” and the “Obedient Oarsmen” are each primarily made up of members of the swim and crew teams, respectively, and can be important for team culture. Robins says part of why she loves IM Volleyball is because, “For us it is something to do outside swim that we can bond over and a way for us to make fun memories that are not swim related.” Henry France ’26, a member of Vassar’s crew team, says “IM games provide a couple hours a week where we all forget about the stress of academics or athletics and can just have a really great time competing against and with our friends.”
IMs also provide opportunities for students who played volleyball in high school or just love the sport, but do not feel like they have the time or skills for the varsity team. One example is Ishika Muppidi ’25, who has been playing IM Volleyball at Vassar since she was a freshman and played in high school. She says, “I really like IM Volleyball because it’s a place where I can still play volleyball, a sport that I love, with my friends and just have a good time. The community overall is really great and supportive and welcoming as well.”
On the Kenyon courts, the “eclectic” collective of Vassar, as Schmid says, come together. Maxwell Sivers-Boyce ’25, captain of “besteambesteambesteam” says, “I have some friends who go to big state schools, and at those places they have so many people doing intramurals that they sort it out into divisions based on competitiveness, but here we don’t have enough people to do that so you get a funny range of like a group of people who have no idea what they’re doing and just wanted to have some fun playing to assholes like my team which has three people who have played volleyball competitively and then a bunch of other generally athletic people.”
The seemingly most prominent feature of these match-ups were the care and love each team showed for each other. After each point, win or lose, players hugged, clapped and cheered for each other. They were always ready with a don’t worry and you got this next time after any serve sent into the net or ball flying out of bounds.
In the big gym, anyone can come together and feel like a part of this beautiful night of sports. Whether you join a team or take a seat in the stands, partaking in Vassar’s Intramural Volleyball is a must during your time here.