Beach volleyball added to intramurals

Students trodded bare-foot on white sand, casually dressed in shorts and T-shirts, while referees watched from the side, standing on the red tape boundaries that marked the volleyball court outlines.

Others sat in the grass nearby, sifting the sand between their toes while they chatted in the sun.

The intramurals office held an open-play preseason day for the new beach volleyball league on Wednesday to commemorate the return of beach volleyball to Liberty University. Beach Volleyball was originally a part of intramural sports but, due to poor conditions of the playing fields in it’s previous location at David’s Place, it didn’t blossom into a regular sport. Now at its new location next to the lacrosse fields on Campus East, students can enjoy beach volleyball anytime they want and even get a feeling of being near the ocean, as sprinklers in the lacrosse fields will occasionally bring some “ocean spray” over to the volleyball courts.

“We’re excited about the new volleyball courts,” intramural volleyball supervisor Bethany Sgandurra said. “There will be 48 teams that will be participating in the league and it will be a lot of fun.”

The regular season beach volleyball games will run for three weeks, with each game being played on Sunday nights at Campus East. After the season, there will be a week of playoff games to decide the season champion. The teams will consist of four members — two male and two female. Although registration for the teams has already passed, all students are invited to come and enjoy the volleyball courts.

“It’s a great place to hang out,” league participant Joseph Collins said. “We can just relax here, play volleyball and get some sun while we do it. We’re excited to play in the season. We’re not very good at volleyball, but hopefully it will go well.”

The Liberty Intramural Sports program organizes and hosts seasons for a variety of sports including basketball, soccer, flag football and now, beach volleyball.