On November 18th, 2023, The GVSU Men's Club Volleyball team traveled to Central Michigan University to participate in the Chip Classic. Both A and B teams competed in this tournament, both playing exceptionally great.

A team: Took home the 2023 Chip Classic Championship with a win over CMU's A team 2-0.

B team: Made it to Gold Bracket after a great round of pool play, losing a hard fought match to the runner up, CMU A team in the first round.

With B teams loss, A team had their teams back and defeated CMU's A team to win it all.

We got to ask some of the players some questions, which you can check out down below!

How did you mentally and physically prepare for the tournament?

"We mentally and physically prepared for the tournament by being consistent in practices and communicating with our coaches. It is very easy to get comfortable in practice, doing the same thing, the same routines, the same drills. Our coaches have been a vital part in asking us what we want to work on, watching our film, coming to practice prepared with different plans that help incorporate a number of skills. I think this structure has led us to improving our game immensely as well as allowing us to be comfortable in chaos. There were chaotic moments throughout the tournament but we were prepared which helped us win the tournament." - Paden Rousseau

How did you work with your team to win the tournament?

"We just made sure to communicate throughout the tournament verbally on and off the court during timeouts, between and between games. We were prepared for everything and communicating that showed." - Jacob Fiandalo

What were your guys' best strengths in the tournament?

"Our best strengths this tournament had to be our team chemistry and our ability to rally with each other. As most of our team are returners, we've had a lot of experience playing together. Our three freshman this year have also been able to fit in perfectly with the team dynamic. When any of us made a big play the rest of the team was there celebrating the moment, and when we weren't playing well our teammates were there to pick our heads up and get us back in the game. We were able to string together great runs during the games and keep positive attitudes which let us win the tournament." - Mack Tyrell

Any thoughts on your performance specifically?

"We all played well. Our hitters put balls away, blockers blocked, there was good defense, just overall a solid day. Not really any moments of worry and if there was, we cleaned it up pretty quick. Our serve receive was for the most part consistent and cover defense helped us get points off the second opportunity." - Easton Upton

What do you look forward to after the conclusion of the Chip Classic?

"After the conclusion of the Chip Classic, I look forward to growing and touching on the little things. We are not too busy the rest of the second semester in terms of tournaments and games, which gives us a lot of time to work on small things. This includes things like hitter setter connections, passing technique, and repetitive style drills. It is oftentimes something we don't get time to work on when the season schedule is busy, but it helps immensely. We also have some time off for Thanksgiving as well as opportunities to do team bonding events. I think it is important to go into the second semester rested and in good mental health too. Second semester gets busy and it is when our conference play starts. We have more tournaments and games and i think winning the Chip Classic and going into a more laid back period gives us more incentive to work harder and want to win more." - Paden Rousseau

It sounds like the men are very excited to get back to work after the Chip Classic Championship win and look forward to improving along the way. The team has done a great job this season, winning their games and staying active within the GVSU community. If you would like any more information about the Men's Club Volleyball team, visit their Instagram page (@gvmensvb) or contact GVSU Club Sports through our Instagram as well (@gvsuclubsports).

On the weekend of October 28-29th, the GVSU Women's Club Soccer team traveled to Lansing, Michigan to play in the Regionals Tournament. The women drew against Wisconsin 0-0 and drew against Purdue 1-1. Pool play ended up being draws all across the board as Purdue and Wisconsin drew 2-2. Because of this, semi-final advancement was determined by goal differential. Purdue scored the most goals in the pool, therefore they moved onto the semi-finals on the weekend.

Though the Lakers didn't finish as they wanted, their hard fought effort did not go unnoticed from coaches and fans!

The women's team coming off of a strong effort now look forward to Nationals. The team will fly out to Round Rock, Texas on November 15th and will hold one practice that night to get acquainted with the fields. The schedule of their games has not been released yet, but pool play is always 2 games on Thursday, November 16th, one being early in the morning and one in the afternoon. Then, the team will play one game on Friday, November 17th. These are guaranteed games to play in. If the women win their pool, whether that be by winning all 3 games, goal differential, etc., they move onto the knockout stages where they will have another game that Friday. They will continue to have games through Sunday unless they lose before then.

We got to ask some of the women questions regarding their performance at Regionals and looking forward to traveling to Nationals.

What did you think about your performance at regionals?

"I think it was better than previous years but still not adequate to win. We have been struggling to execute goals and therefore we ended with two ties one being scoreless. We have the talent but we just need to play our skill level. Not moving on based on goal differential is a big bummer." - McKenna Chestolowski, Senior, Center Mid/Forward

What are some things you know you need to work on after regionals?

"After regionals, we were disappointed not moving on further, but it gave us an opportunity to reflect and discuss what we need to improve on to get the results we want.  First, we weren't as successful building out of the back to the final third so in our practices on November 1st and 2nd our assistant coach, Alex Pastor had us running drills focused on that.  Second, our first touches were lackluster and led to constant turnaways to our opponent, so getting that technique down has been vital for us. Finally, executing in the final third and putting our shots on frame was another thing we knew we needed to work on because the better team doesn't always win, it simply is the team that scores more goals." - Nicole Miller, Junior, Center Mid

What are you guys doing as a team to prepare for nationals?

"We are preparing for nationals by conditioning lots, continuing to advance our team chemistry, and creating good offensive opportunities." - Liberty Bleicher, Senior, Center Back

What are you most looking forward to as nationals approaches?

"We are most looking forward to playing against competitive teams and showcasing our skills and talent in the national tournament." - Sophie Stevens, Junior, Forward

What is an attribute that sets this team apart from the others?

"Something that sets our team apart is our diverse personalities and the way we harmonize on and off the field. We are a family with a shared passion. We push each other to be our best, but we also know how to celebrate our victories, no matter how small, and provide support when things don’t go as planned. We also genuinely have fun together and enjoy each other’s company." - Clara North, Senior, Center Mid

On Saturday, November 11th, the GVSU Men's Rugby Club will be hosting the play-in game that would see them advance to the round of 16 in the NCR D2 playoffs in Knoxville, Tennessee on the 17th. Their opponent on Saturday will be the loser of the Allegheny conference championship, which will either be #3 ranked IUP or #20 Miami of Ohio, who beat the GVSU Men's Rugby Club in the playoffs last season.

The team is excited for the opportunity to compete at a national level and has been preparing all season for this moment. They have been battle tested with a tough 9 game schedule in the regular season with tough matches against D1 opponents like Purdue, Notre Dame, and Trine. Additionally, they swept the great lakes conference for the second year in a row, securing back-to-back conference titles. It's time to be excited about rugby at GVSU. The team can't wait for everyone to pack the stands at recreation outdoor field 1 for the home playoff match!

We got some players to share some of their thoughts as well.

Reinhardt Stipp: "We're not just chasing victory; we're forging a legacy of determination and teamwork - this is where champions are made".

Josiah Purdue: "I'm just excited to have the opportunity to get a potential rematch against Miami Ohio who knocked us out last year".

Joshua Jehnkins: "I hate losing more than I love to win". 

On Sunday, November 5th, the GVSU Club PomPon team finished the MAPP Hip Hop and High Kick Championships in 2nd place for the first time 10 years!

The PomPon team stated that "our Poison Ivy routine challenged us physically, creatively, and mentally, but we could not be more thrilled with how it turned out. We would like to give a special shoutout to Coach Kikki for coming back to help us create and refine this routine. We truly could not have accomplished this without you, and we are so thankful for all of your help!"

Congratulations to the PomPon team!