Men’s volleyball benefits from off-court bonding

During women’s volleyball season there is a group of fans who sit in the stands dressed as the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.

Some might call them crazy, while others call them the men’s volleyball team.

One of the greatest pastimes of the closely knit team is to march into women’s games dressed most memorably as characters from the movie “The Wizard of Oz” or as lumberjacks. When the women played Stanford in the fall, the men dressed in flannel and chopped down someone else dressed as the tree. They think of it as just another way to have fun together and strengthen the team ties.

“We have some creative minds on the team that we like to exploit as best as possible,” team captain Paul George said. “Every member of our team will be there in costume. It’s a way to really just bond.”

The members of the men’s volleyball team won’t be sending any cards or chocolates to each other this Valentine’s Day, but the brotherly love among them is unmatchable nonetheless.

It is this level of camaraderie that keeps the Bruins together, through the rough patches of their four-match losing streak earlier this season and their current high of a four-match winning streak. But no matter what happens on the volleyball court, the No. 8 Bruins always know that there is someone to have their backs through the peaks and valleys of a roller coaster season.

“This team is really very close,” George said. “It’s something that we’ve been promoting in the past couple of years, because in the past it’s kind of been a divided team. This team is really one cohesive unit. As soon as the freshmen come in in the fall, the older guys invite them in and say, “˜Hey, welcome to the team.’ It really works out for the best.”

One of the biggest payoffs of being best friends with teammates is the level of trust, George said. And being on the court with five other players may become a stressful issue if not for the confidence and faith they have in each other.

“When you’re playing with guys you’re with all the time, you want to win,” George said. “And it makes it easier to win because you want to do well for the guy next to you. A good cohesive group, a good unit, friends; it’s always better out there.”

There is hardly a time when the members of the volleyball team aren’t together: grabbing a bite to eat, catching a basketball game at one of the guys’ houses, or supporting the women’s volleyball team in outrageous costumes.

“We’re really great friends off the court,” redshirt sophomore Jamie Diefenbach said. “I don’t think there’s any team with a tighter bond than these guys, especially as a carryover from last year. Everybody generally enjoys being out with each other, not just on the volleyball court.”

Everything that happens off the court will do nothing but help the Bruins when the ball is in play. And they are hoping it will aid them in adding to their four-match winning streak with this weekend’s rematches against Pacific and Stanford.

“I love all these guys,” Diefenbach said. “I know they have my back and I got theirs.”

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