On Friday 18 March a volleyball tournament was hosted on the grass of the engineering faculty. Although the day was dampened by a light drizzle, spirits remained high amongst the players.
Although the annual event was previously reserved for engineering students, recent years have seen it opened up to other students and Stellenbosch alumni. The event coordinator, Marcel Lusheshe, third year BEng (Civil) student, is the brains behind this event.
“For me, I just saw the volleyball day as just an opportunity for students to relax before the upcoming A1s,” said Lusheshe, in explaining why the event had occurred three months earlier.
According to Lusheshe around 150 people made up the spectators and participants at the event. Those that participated did so in teams that represented their respective faculties.
“We were feeling confident […] We went down early, but I felt like we could come back. It’s just unfortunate that we couldn’t get our rhythm,” said Paschal Ekiji, final-year BAgric (Agri-business Management) student, one of the ‘Eng Crew’ players, reflecting on their loss against TBC.
There were also teams that represented the various campus residences and PSOs, as well as teams with a mix of people from different faculties. The mish-mash of teams saw no shortage of supporters.
“We’re very excited about today, I’m rooting for Sets on the Beach,” said Meshai Ranchord, final-year BEng (Civil) student, who took a break from studying to support one of the teams.
The highlight of the day was the final game between ‘Sets on the Beach’ and ‘Technicalities’. There were three sets, the first of which Technicalities won. In the second set Sets on the Beach came back and ended up winning. “Before the game, we definitely knew we were up against a very strong team. […] We definitely knew it wasn’t going to be an easy final, but during the third set our mentality changed,” said Daniel Seidler, PGDip (Accounting) student, who was on the winning team.
The end of the day saw the top three teams as VollAca, in third place, Sets on the Beach, in second place and Technicalities, who won first place. The final games made a brilliant conclusion to a day filled with competition, food, music, and an overall thoroughly enjoyable atmosphere.
