Club volleyball reaches No. 1

Despite being ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation, the Fresno State men̢۪s volleyball team continues to be one of the most underrated programs on campus.

That might be because the team is not affiliated through the Fresno State athletic department, instead it is a campus-organized club.

The team̢۪s 35-3 record, as of Sunday morning, puts them atop the nation and part of that is due to the competitiveness of its̢۪ schedule and league play.

“This league has to be the most competitive in the country,â€Â said Brian Tsukimura, who is the team’s head coach and advisor.

The Bulldogs are part of the Northern California Collegiate Volleyball League, which is composed of Sacramento State, California, Sonoma State, Santa Clara, UC Davis, Stanford, Cal Poly, Chico State and Fresno State.

The nine-team league can be dignified as the nation̢۪s toughest, with four teams ranking in the nation̢۪s Top 20.

And for the first time in school history, Fresno State hosted the NCCVL league championship tournament on Sunday.

“We just wanted to play our game and play consistently,â€Â Tsukimura said.

The first game of the tournament the Bulldogs took on Sacramento State, whom they had lost just one set to all season. A win would advance the team to face the winner of the Cal and UC Davis match.

Results of the match were not available for print. Prior to the start of the tournament, senior Brett Gillen said his team just needed to focus on their own play.

“It doesn’t matter what our opponent does, we just have to stay calm and collective,â€Â Gillen said . “We just have to go out and play hard.â€Â

The most impressive thing about the men̢۪s volleyball team is that their success on a national level has been reached without the help that most other athletic programs receive.

While the club does receive money from Associated Student, Inc. (ASI) and IRA, it does not have near the same budget as other athletic teams at Fresno State.

Each player pays $500 to play and must buy their own plane ticket for traveling.

In addition to cost being an obstacle for the team̢۪s success, so is time. The team practices twice a week, but with gym space tight, they often can̢۪t practice until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. on school nights. Practice can end anywhere from 10 p.m. to midnight.

Only a select few universities nationwide have men̢۪s volleyball programs run through the NCAA. However, there are over 320 universities with club volleyball programs and that is where the true prestige lies, according to Tsukimura.

To the members of the Fresno State men̢۪s volleyball team, it isn̢۪t an issue not being part of the NCAA or receiving much exposure.

“It would be nice to get a little more recognition,â€Â said Gillen. “But our fans know who we are and volleyball is such a tight community.â€Â

It is this type of spirit and fight that Tsukimura says makes his team possibly the best team he has ever coached. As a coach, he said, that motivating his athletes isn̢۪t a problem because they have to work through the obstacles of being a club sport, which in itself shows their true desire to play.

“The thing about guys who do club is that they are there for the love of the sport,â€Â said Tsukimura.
“They don’t need any motivation.â€Â

But more than anything, he believes that the chemistry of his team is what has brought them to such a high ranking.

“If you asked me to rank them in athleticism with all the other teams I have coached, they would be in the bottom half,â€Â said Tsukimura. “But the team chemistry is like no other team I’ve ever been around.â€Â