Alyssa VanPelt, Staff Writer
SUNY Oneonta is well known for its teaching, fashion and sports programs. Anything outside of those would often require more effort to learn or hear about. Despite being a part of the sports, the SUNY Oneonta men’s club volleyball is relatively unknown. This is often the case for many of the clubs on campus. Fortunately, here are a few interviews from men’s club volleyball team members.
Brandon VanValkenburg is a current freshman majoring in Adolescent Education with a focus on English. VanValkenburg is in his second semester of being with the volleyball club where he is on the official team that would go to tournaments. Although VanValkenburg has not gone to any tournaments yet, he does wish to go one day and compete. He wants to see how well he would play against other students and be at that level of competition. He learned about the club originally during his first semester at the club expo. He had played volleyball in another volleyball club during high school, so he wanted to continue that love. Additionally, VanValkenburg has aspirations to one day be a member of the board of the club.
Christopher Burns, who is a senior majoring in Adolecent Education with a focus on Chemistry, has been a member of the volleyball club for a few years now. He learned about the club through the CORQ app during his freshman year, but there was a conflict with his schedule, so he did not join until later. However, he has now been with the club for three years. Burns always wanted to play volleyball, but they did not offer anything at his high school for it. As he currently has no other sports going on, he decided to play for the volleyball club as it would be a good opportunity. Last semester, he went with the team to away games at Cortland and Syracuse. Burns would be interested in SUNY Oneonta hosting an at-home tournament, but they do not have enough nets that meet regulation standards.
Daniel Gallagher, a junior majoring in Adolescent Education with a focus on Mathematics, shares a similar desire to host a tournament at SUNY Oneonta. Gallagher has been with the club for three years and a member of the club’s board for two semesters now. His experience with the club did not come from hearing about it at the club expo, or CORQ app. He began playing volleyball for the intramural club where he was invited by a friend to give the volleyball club a try. He had always wanted to play volleyball, but like many of the gentlemen at the club, there was no volleyball option for them at their high school. Gallagher never played volleyball before his freshman year at SUNY Oneonta because of the lack of opportunity. However, he says it was very easy to get into and encourages anyone to come check it out. That does not mean anyone as there is a women’s volleyball club and they have coed meetings on Sundays for casual play. Gallagher manages the Instagram for the men’s volleyball club and is very responsive, so feel free to reach out with any questions.
The treasurer of the club, Thomas Ulrich, is a junior majoring in Meteorology. Ulrich was originally invited to join the club by his orientation leader, who was the president of the club at
the time. Now, Ulrich has been with the club for three years and has been a member of the board since his second semester at SUNY Oneonta. His current goal for the club is for there to be a growth in membership and more consistency among them to attend. He is encouraging growth for tournaments and competitive play. Ulrich has currently been to “seven, or eight tournaments” during his time with the club. One of his most memorable tournaments was when they went to Syracuse last semester. He was the most growth among their team and could see the future potential. The men’s volleyball club is relatively new in comparison to other clubs on campus, but they have already grown so much as a team, according to Ulrich.
All of these men love their club and wish nothing more than for it to be successful. If you have a love of volleyball, go visit their club.
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