With team names like ISU Fury, Sting and Xtreme, it’s safe to say the ISU Women’s Volleyball Club doesn’t take its sport lightly.

“The time and effort put forth by some of these girls is amazing, and this club could not function without their help,” said Sarah Post, junior in graphic design and president of the volleyball club.

Many of the women could play for the varsity squad, which Post said surprises people. Many players chose not to play varsity or were injured and forced to the sidelines. All-state players and other players with high school honors populate the court each practice.”[It’s] difficult to teach volleyball to someone and attempt to practice ourselves, so we generally require our girls to be self-sufficient volleyball players,” Post said.

Tryouts begin in the fall after ClubFest, when the club tries to get as many prospects as possible. An evaluation of a player’s skills in serving, hitting, passing and team play awaits each girl at practice. Evaluators are outside contacts chosen for their unbiased decisions and opinions. A score is assigned to each player, and, based on those scores, the girls are assembled into the team of their playing level.

The teams are members of USA Volleyball and compete on three different levels: BB, the highest, B1 and B2. The tournaments the teams travel to are all-day events, most often held on Saturdays, with the exception of an occasional Sunday and the three-day national collegiate tournament.

“Most tournaments we play in consist of teams from the Midwest, as it’s hard to travel too far for just one weekend. But sometimes you get a chance to play teams from far away, like we did against Colorado in a fall tournament,” Post said.

A trip to Minnesota earned the collegiate squad a first-place finish with a defeat over longtime rival, Wisconsin-Madison. The team also tied for third in its home tournament and won fifth place at Wisconsin-Madison.

Many times, a placing is all the team has to show after an exhausting day, as many tournaments don’t even hand out awards.

“However, by winning you do get a chance to improve your national ranking,” Post said. “If you are ranked high enough, you are guaranteed entry into the national tournament. So winning does count for something.”

Potential players are warned that the club comes with payments that are quite costly, due to the extensive traveling the teams do.

“Unfortunately, every year all the clubs need more money and every year the budget gets cut,” Post said.

In the end, expenses don’t stop these girls; the passion for their sport keeps them in the game.

“Volleyball is the ultimate team sport, and this team unity allows for us to play together on equal ground and with friends. At the end of a tournament, you may lose or win, but the friendships that many of us make here are lifelong,” Post said.

“We are all tied together by our love of the game.”