Gents kicked off the spring 2026 men’s indoor volleyball season with a 2-1 victory against Vanguard at the Student Recreation Center on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Gents set an aggressive tone to start the best-of-three match with a 25-19 win in Set 1. Vanguard responded with attacks from the middle of the net to win Set 2, 25-16. Set 3 turned into a dog fight as Gents jumped out to an early lead followed by a late Vanguard comeback attempt. In the end, Gents out-served Vanguard, to claim the final set, 15-12.
Despite having no traditional volleyball experience before, Gents played with disciplined technique. After a core group of Gents won a Fall 2025 volleyball tournament sponsored by a sorority, enough of the men’s org members united to fill a roster for the men’s indoor recreational Intramural season. With little preparation, the team won its first match.
“This is our first time playing all together,” accounting senior and team captain Vinay Patel said. “We haven’t practiced.”
In the first set, Patel made an impact from the front row with two big attacks before rotating back to the service line and going on a long serving run. Vanguard kept up with Gents, trailing behind by two points for most of the set. Both teams were scrappy on defense and kept the ball alive for long rallies in the first 10 points. Gents stretched to an 18-14 lead, forcing serve-receive errors that cost Vanguard the first set. An ace by biomedical sciences senior Tristian Botello sealed the set for Gents, 25-19.
Business administration sophomore Javier Mendoza started the second set on a 10-point serving run to put Vanguard ahead 11-2. Gents’ energy from the first set eventually evaporated, and with barely any communication, Gents could not return the serve. Economics sophomore Luke Harris and mechanical engineering senior Theodore Nemeth created some momentum for Gents with big right-side hits and strong defensive plays. But Gents had dug too deep a hole, and Vanguard took the second set, 25-16.
“The second set was a little rough,” mechanical engineering sophomore Ted Mucher said.
An early block from Mucher in the third set shifted momentum back to Gents’ side of the court. Patel’s aggressiveness returned with two kills from the front row and a four-point serving run. But Vanguard did not give up without a fight. Construction science senior Curtis Gardner had two consecutive blocks and a five-point serving run to tie the match, 12-12. But just like in the first set, Gents capitalized on Vanguard’s errors to win the set, 15-12.
After the match, the Gents players were excited about the win, but all agreed that improved communication would be key to becoming more comfortable playing together as the season progressed.
“We will get better, but for our first game, it was a pretty good win,” industrial engineering junior Lucas Perez said.
Next, Gents will take on ITS OUR BALL at the Student Recreation Center on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 6:40 p.m.
