New faces stormed the bleachers and court alike this last weekend for the first Trent Varsity Volleyball game of the season. The Shack has a new layer of polish, the players look younger and younger and, as always, Arthur was there to detail all that happened.

For any newcomers, “the Shack” is the loving nickname the players have bestowed upon the Trent Athletic centre’s gymnasium. Its floor has received a stylish touch up, now includes a small tarp at the base of the bleachers to keep it clean during games, and now boasts a live announcer. To top it all off, the gym now even sports a sponsor in the form of “Fairapy,” a local Peterborough counselling clinic. 

There is one change of particular note however, for those who attend the games. Outside of a few exceptions (one of which being Trent students), attendees now have to purchase a ticket to get in. 

Despite this new cost, the reception has been positive. Players said they welcomed the change, as it would bring much appreciated funds into the program, and an overwhelming number of parents welcomed the change too, mimicking their children. 

“Whenever we attend away games, we always pay to get in. At least now the money is going to our team.” One parent told me. 

There were some parents however, who weren’t fond of the new change, citing how they already paid for hotels and travelling, on top of any direct support they already contribute to their children, and wished for some allowances to be made for family members. 

When asked for his thoughts on the matter, Head Coach Collin Walker said “I think it's reasonable to expect to pay something to get entertained. Students are getting in for free, so we still expect to get the same large crowds, because our student body really supports us.”

All these advancements have been accredited to the new athletics director, Nathan McFadden, who took over last October, and has previously been spotted reading Arthur’s Volleyball coverage while attending the games.

All the players I spoke to offered glowing praise for the advancements being made for their program.

We did not win any of the four games (two games each for both men’s and women’s teams), but we still did quite well. 

The women’s team managed to take their first set of the season (for those unfamiliar, a Volleyball game is divided into five 25 point “sets” wherein the best of 3 wins), with a crushing performance that had York on the backfoot throughout, and managed to keep most sets outside of that quite competitive, with two 25-27 and a 20-25 loss. 

The women’s team has undergone a huge change in the off season. Last year we ended the season with 14 players, and now we have 22. This massive increase in players has been done to avoid (wo)manpower issues the team faced last year, both in practice and during games. 

Team Captain, Isabelle Pellerine, explained that “last year we were very overworked because of the lack of extra bodies we had in practice, pre-season, games. We had people playing in other positions that they weren’t used to, so now we have a lot of depth in our roster, and I think we’ll be able to use that to our advantage this year.” 

When asked how she felt about the upcoming season, she responded “We’ve had pretty tough training pre-season, so we’re going to put all that training to work and eat in this season. I can feel it brewing.”

Things are looking bright on the men’s side as well. They pushed York into a few very close sets, with two 23-25 sets, and a handful of other sets in the 20s. 

The men’s team also underwent an increase in manpower, from 18 last season to 26, bringing Trent well beyond par for many bigger schools. 

Morale is holding up as well, leading to many daring sentiments, such as Baxter Scholberg’s declaration that “If I get a nickel every game we win, I hope to have more than a dime at the end of the season.”

This would be a personal record for the men’s team. 

Our volleyball team is more energetic than ever, and ready to take on whatever challenges come their way. If you want to support your team, Associate Coach Rebecca Van Staalduinen said “Just come out and support. We love to have a rowdy crowd in the shack… We’re going to have some great games this year at home, so come out here and support us”. 

The next women’s game is November 1^st at 7pm against TMU, to be followed the next day at 4PM. The next men’s game is November 7th at 8pm.