The Pomona-Pitzer men’s volleyball team is somewhat of a conundrum. Sometimes the Hen’s bring it all with super-exciting smashes, laid-out digs, and some superfly dancing. Oh, do we dance. Other times the team talks mad game, but walks bad game. Sparked with two victories against CMS and one against San Diego based Point Loma, the Hens look to continue their passionate playing and dancing into the last two weeks of the season.

To get a few formalities out of the way up front, volleyball has been undergoing a revolution as of late. No longer exist the boring side-out oriented, hour and half long, 15-point games, the new international rules have created a new type of volleyball. With the specific intention of speeding up the game and extending entertaining rallies, let serves and double contacts on the first ball have been legalized. More importantly, the game itself now adheres to a rally score format to 25 points. And finally, the most significant change as I see it, a new position on the team, the libero, has been created.

The libero is basically a new invention that allows a team to use the same defensive-minded player to sub in for an uncoordinated big man that has inconveniently found himself rotated to the back row and then sub for the other uncoordinated big man once he rotates into the back row. Generally, the fact that the libero has to wear a contrasting jersey to those of his regular teammates makes the position easily ridiculed by hecklers. And of the numerous reasons to pick on Sagehen libero Conor Gallogly ‘02, the jersey is the least apparent. Regardless, the new position generally creates a better flow and a better game, if not simply because of the absence of a man like Adam Larner ’02 in the back row, trying to set someone on the outside.

With the new intricacies of the game out of the way, we can now focus on the team itself. This season the men’s volleyball team has returned with a new mindset centered around working hard, talking trash, loving fans, and winning games. And behind the leadership of the gangly junior high school algebra teacher David Longyear CGU ‘94, the Hens see nothing in their way on their road to a national championship in Kansas City, April 11-15.

Of course every team has their shares of ups and downs, and this team no different than the rest. Currently, the men’s volleyball team finds itself with a 6-6 record, no ties; they aren’t a wuss-ass soccer team that quits just because time runs out. With losses early in the season due to a general lack of team chemistry and basic fundamentals, the Hens have just begun to turn the season around. A victory against arch-rival CMS has been the rallying call of a season dedicated to some truly impressive volleyball. A microcosm of the season thus far, the CMS game revealed all of the unique facets of Pomona-Pitzer’s game. Shady passing at the outset posed significant problems for the Hens initially. However, with a concentration on defense and heads-up play, they were able to take the second game of the match. With a close game in the third, the Hens found themselves down 1-2. And what does any good team do in a time of crisis? That’s right, they turn to their captain. For the Hens, that man is Jeff Panzer ’01.

To set the scene, both teams had stepped up their games a notch and were playing balls-out volleyball, leaving their sweat and heart out on the court. Late in the fourth game, a CMC hitter found a solo block on the outside and pounded it past the hands of An-Yen Hu ‘04. Standing firm in his defensive position, Panzer was ready for the rocket of a hit. With his forearms outstretched, knees bent, and weight on toes, Panzer was about to deliver a perfect dig. However, the ball traveled higher and faster than he had expected. As the ball found a home solidly on his face, Panzer had the vague idea that something had gone awry. But, due to quick wit and a strategic angling of his face, Panzer had managed to deflect the ball back across the net, up and over the Stag defense, and comfortably to the ground, two feet in front of the baseline. To put it simply, the kill was perfection. Never before and never again will that work of art be duplicated. The team rejoiced with what can only be described as a raucous, incoherent frenzy of madness. At one point, I believe I witnessed Woodlee Hunt ’01 and Robert Whipple ’02 caught up in an embrace that lasted much too long to be considered socially comfortable. The team built upon that decisive play and won the fourth game by a matter of only a few points. Taking that momentum into the fifth and final game of the match, the Hens were psyched for a final showdown. With confidence and blatant cockiness, the Hens steamrolled their Stag counterparts and danced to victory.

To put it simply, the Pomona-Pitzer men’s volleyball team entertains like no other. They play hard, but if they’re blowing a team away, they’ll tank a few games just to make it interesting for the crowd. More importantly, the Hens are stacked. With veritable beauties like Matt Swenson Brown ’02 (x71319) and Damian Georgiev Nikolov ’04 (x75804), the Hens are more than willing to trade some ass for some fan support. Brown will especially be more than willing to share with you his thoughts on the Pennsylvania Dutch and firemen’s spotted dogs… And as far as Nikolov is concerned, he’ll be more than willing to get in your grill and yell, "I am Euro. Do you wish I should beat you?" The man is sick, sick I tell you. Bulgaria can’t have him back. Regardless, I encourage y’all out there to give guys volleyball a chance. Pomona-Pitzer plays Caltech next Tuesday and La Sierra on Thursday before our season final against CMS on April 9. If you don’t, they’ll sic Whipple on you… He’s 21 and if any of y’all were there for his little birthday celebration, you know what he is capable of. I leave the choice up to you.