Men in WVUP Volleyball

By John Hickey
College-age men are typically overpowered by women in volleyball, says Phil McClung, faculty advisor to the WVUP Volleyball Club. Most high schools field a women’s volleyball team, but very few have a men’s team, he says, so among college students there are many more skilled women than men. Women often outplay men taller and stronger than themselves.

When the WVUP Volleyball Club was formed in 1992 by Dr. McClung and Chinese Olympian Dr. Hong Yu Chen, it was an all-woman team, which held its own against the women’s varsity clubs of universities around the region. The club no longer plays other college teams and now includes about an equal number of men and women, but women still play a strong role in the club. Among the women players are several All-State West Virginia high school players and 2000 Player of the Year Amanda Burton. The club’s officers are women: Wendy Cutright, Brook Florence, and Kellye Harshbarger.

The club has become part of Tom Yencha’s intramural program, McClung says, playing every Sunday night at 8 p.m. in the WVUP Physical Facilities Classroom (the “Multipurpose Room”). The club is open to students and alumni. People from the community, as well as WVUP faculty and staff, are welcome to participate in Sunday night play, and, McClung says, have been great in helping the club develop skills and techniques. Including Phil and Denise McClung and Tom Yencha, about 20 to 30 players show up regularly. Players rotate in and out of the game, taking a breather every once in a while so everyone can get in and play. McClung says they will sometimes play until midnight.

The quality of play is very high, McClung says, and raw beginners can find it a little intimidating. He would like to see a day league get going, like the WVUP intramural football and basketball leagues which play on weekday afternoons, so that beginning players can get into the game. He encourages beginners to ask Tom Yencha in the Student Activities office about the possibility of such a league, and he encourages everyone interested in playing to check out the Volleyball Club. Contact Phil in his office, Room 1025D, or e-mail him at philwvup@hotmail.com.