MORGAN HALL
DESIGN EDITOR

When The CSUSM women’s volleyball players hit the courts for practice in Hunter gymnasium, the pride of representing San Marcos will be the team’s main drive to push them through all of the hard work in its inaugural season.

Cal State San Marcos announced last fall that the athletic department would be adding women’s volleyball to the university’s growing list of sports offerings. The team was slowly starting to commit players and a coach before the start of the fall season. The young team, made up of ten freshmen, one sophomore, and five juniors, will play all home games at the Escondido High School gym until a larger Gymnasium can be built on campus.

It is going to be a little hard to play home games off campus, but it’s also amazing to think that Escondido supports us enough to let us use their gym,” freshman Tayler Gomez said.

One player does admit that being a part of a first-year team and juggling class work does occasionally come with some pressure. “Because student athletes are such a small group on campus, we really want to prove that we can represent both the student athletes and the school,” sophomore Rachel Quam said. Quam also reflected that even though they are athletes, “school work comes first. We truly are students before athletes.”

As their season enters week four, the players are starting to settle in on campus and find their niche on the team. “We have been focusing a lot on team building, and I think we have finally meshed as a team,” freshman Kiki Atuatasi said.

The most memorable achievements for the team have been their 25-22, 25-22, 12-25 scores, A couple of highlights include a 25- 23, stunning win over the number- one ranked Fresno Pacific as well as a win over the number seven ranked Lewis-Clark State. The CSUSM women’s Volleyball team currently holds a record of 13-5 and is set to play their first home game of the season at Escondido High School today at 8 p.m. vs. San Diego Christan.

Photo courtesy of Morgan Hall