Francis Rivera / Photojournalist

>> Men’s club volleyball team strives for national success

Many students come to the Lerner Health and Wellness Center’s third floor courts to play a causal game of pick-up basketball. But for the men’s club volleyball team, it is the stage from which they hope to launch their bid at national success.

In a week the team will be in Kansas City, Mo. for the National Collegiate Club Volleyball Championship. And as the Colonials prepared to practice, they had to wait for students to shoot their last few hoops as workers scurried to set up the volleyball net.

“It’s hard to get motivated in the middle of HelWel. It’s easy to get motivated on the court at nationals,” head coach Daniel Davidson, who has been volunteering with the team since 2002, said.

Once Davidson and his squad step onto the court, the distractions of the runners on the track above or the churn of the step machines nearby fade from the team’s mind.

With their eyes set on national competition, practice is a fast-paced affair that builds in intensity with every reminder from Davidson on what is at stake. The kills become more powerful, the rallies grow longer and the calls between teammates escalate into a synchronized cacophony.

“We’re not as conditioned as an NCAA team. We’re not as athletic as an NCAA team. We’re certainly not as tall as a top NCAA team,” Davidson said. “But there’s no reason why we can’t have the focus, the drive, the intensity, the aggression and the desire to win that an NCAA team has.”

While this is GW’s fifth endeavor at nationals,  – their last trip was in 2010 – two-thirds of the current roster have never competed in a national championship tournament. The team’s excitement as they prepare to attend is palpable to anyone watching from the sidelines.

The squad is eager to return to competition, having fallen to top-seeded Penn State in the semi-finals of last weekend’s Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association divisional championship, leaving with a third place title. While GW arrived hoping to capture their second Central Division II title in three years, the team came away content knowing they were the only team in the tournament to force the undefeated Nittany Lions into a third game.

The dearth of available places to practice was a struggle that plagued the team’s development throughout the season. With other club sports vying for the same spaces, the team was limited in its ability to grow as a cohesive unit. Since outside teams are not allowed to play in the Lerner Health and Wellness Center, GW was forced to travel for competitive scrimmages.

“The whole time it was very close, and just toward the very end they pulled away,” senior Joe Verde, the club’s president, said. “It’s kind of upsetting, because I know that we if we had more practice time we could have won easily.”

But as the weather warmed and several club sports began practicing outdoors, the opportunities to train increased and the team progressed. Additional practice time allowed the Colonials to not only improve their skills, but build a sense of camaraderie that is essential in competitive play.

The most successful club programs, Davidson said, create a culture of comradeship that betters how players behave and their level of dedication. The head coach wants his team to feel like “a brotherhood.”. Drawing a comparison between his team and an army, Davidson references how soldiers train together and get to know each other before going to battle, so they instinctually back each other up when under duress.

“That’s why [soldiers] always get in fights at bars; you fight one of them and 10 of them are right on you,” he said.

Davidson, who also volunteers with GW’s varsity volleyball program, knows that building the kind of culture he idealizes will be a long process.

“We have a bunch of fun together, and that’s a huge value of being on the team,” sophomore Kevin Weiss said.

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>> Lonergan and team prepare for Italian tour

A subtle grin crept across the faces of members of the men’s basketball team as sophomore forward John Kopriva introduced himself to their audience, the last of the Colonials to conclude his remarks.

“One of the things the we wanted to bring to Italy with us was our fight song,” Kopriva said, stepping forward. “And so we learned it in Italian.”

Gathered in the spacious glass-domed lobby of the Italian Embassy, the crowd chuckled as the team chanted GW’s fight song in Italian without missing a beat.

The event marked a farewell to the Colonials, who will depart Wednesday for a summer tour of Italy, playing five exhibition games against professional Italian competition before returning Aug. 26.

“I have to admit, when they said they were going to do that I really was nervous. But actually, you guys weren’t that bad,” athletic director Patrick Nero said. “But we don’t need to sing that everywhere we go next week.”

Head coach Mike Lonergan will lead the men’s basketball team on the international tour, GW’s first since 2005.

The games will take place in Rome, Siena, Pisa, Ticino. The Colonials will also visit historical sites like the Roman Colosseum and perform community service at military bases with American soldiers.

The reception also offered the first look at Lonergan’s recruiting class with his returning squad for the first time, after their first month training together.

Along with the 10 practices before an international tour, changes in NCAA rules this year allowed all 13 players up to two hours of extra on-court practice in exchange for registering in a summer course. The Colonials also took part in a three-day Italian history and culture seminar with professor Diane Cline in preparation for the trip.

The added time with the team has been notably beneficial, Lonergan said. Last year – his first season as head coach – he could not take to the court with the new team until September.

Kopriva agreed that summer practices have made the team “stronger than ever and ready to work.” The coaching staff and team have focused on building up skills and welcoming freshman.“These practices have been great. Getting to see the returning players play with some of the new guys, they’re building team chemistry,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun and I think this trip will help us in many ways.”

“One of the biggest things that helped me last year was a senior like Jabari Edwards taking me under his wing,” Kopriva said.

Freshman guard Patricio Garino said the eight upperclassmen have mentored the freshmen during drills at the Smith Center and off the court. He said he’s felt like “this is the team to be on” since day one.

“Everyday we wake up and see each other at six o’clock in the morning. There’s a lot of bonding. Outside the gym and the weight room, we hang out and play video games together,” senior guard Bryan Bynes said.

Along with historical visits, the team’s itinerary includes a Vespa trip through Rome and a tour of a Ferrari car factory.

The Colonials will leave Wednesday from Dulles International Airport for Rome, where they will spend four days. The tour will conclude in the Italian Lakes Region, where GW will play their fifth and final game near Cernobbio.