The newly-established Hillsdale men’s club volleyball team hosted its first ever practice on January 24. 

“We had 17 guys turn out for our first ‘practice’ of sorts — a court time to play some pickup games,” sophomore club president Joe Vankat said.

With their inaugural practice in the books, men’s club volleyball joins the women’s club volleyball team, the two Campus Rec intramural volleyball leagues, and Hillsdale’s dominant volleyball program as the newest form of volleyball on campus.

The idea for the club comes from a certain circle of Simpson residents for which volleyball became a serious hobby, one that the intramural sand and indoor Campus Rec leagues didn’t satisfy.

“It was brought up a lot around the dorm early on in the fall semester, and the people who we talked about it with were all on board to try for something more,” senior Jadon Camero, club treasurer and Simpson head resident assistant, said.

So a group of Simpson resident assistants and upperclassmen set to work getting a men’s club volleyball team started.

“We noticed volleyball was becoming more popular among the men of campus,” Vankat said. “We saw enough talent and desire for a more competitive brand of volleyball, so we decided to give it a shot.”

Men’s club volleyball officially secured the student federation’s approval to become a club in the closing days of the 2024 fall semester, entering the probationary period. This semester they’ll be working to generate interest in the club, which hasn’t been hard to do, according to Vankat.

“We had about 30 people express interest at the Re-Source, the majority of whom showed up to our first court time. Starting next semester, we’re going to assemble a travel team and hold actual practices,” he said. “Then in the spring of 2026, we plan to join the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.”

Junior Marc Ayers, club secretary and Simpson resident assistant, said he looks forward to league play.

“We can’t wait to finally get on a regulation-height net,” Ayers said.

Camero, the only senior in the club’s leadership, said he hopes to set the team up for success in his final semester.

“There’s already a real commitment to this idea among the guys. I want to see that continue to the point where this club achieves the kind of success that a lot of the other club sports here at the college have had,” Camero said. “Volleyball is something I’ve enjoyed in my time here, and I want to share that with the students who come after me.”