Men's Volleyball Serves Up Fun at the Community Rec Center

The most surprising thing about Thursday night's men’s volleyball at the is the amount of women that play with the guys. Pat Bartek has been playing with the boys for a long time. For 30 years, in Peters Township, to be exact.

“We played at the high school, the middle school and eventually we moved here, back when it opened in 2004,” she said.

The guys aren’t interested in running a he-man women haters club. It’s an egalitarian group. According to Stephen Campbell, “All the girls here can play competitively.”

Stephanie Woodruff added, “The girls here can dish out whatever the guys bring.” The young woman plays volleyball with her father, Gary Woodruff. “Stephanie has always played on men’s teams. She’s good,” he said.

Ed Bickar affirmed, “It’s a nice mix of men and women of all ages.”

Bickar is another longtime v-baller. He’s also the group’s unofficial scorekeeper. At 64, he’s not the oldest player, but he’s up there. “I sometimes play over in Bethel Park with a bunch of retired guys, but I like this because it’s nice mix of ages. These young guys and girls keep me on my toes.”

Dave Davis, the acting coordinator of the Thursday night group, said, “We don’t care who shows up as long as they want to play. There are all different ages and skill levels. It’s also a pretty international group as well, with players from India, Korea and Japan.”

“People show up and we pick teams," Davis added. "Usually we just count off. Everyone gets a chance to play. Sometimes we have a few people show up. Sometimes we have a lot. It varies. It’s always fun, though.” 

As many as 22 players have shown up. Davis breaks them up into smaller groups, usually two or three teams.

“The Rec Center only has the one net," he said. "So, when we have three teams, one team sits out, and then they play the winner. With two teams we score up to 25; when we have three teams, we score up to 11. That way everyone has a chance to play.”

Lizzie Zeiler showed up for the first time Thursday. “My finance plays basketball from 7 to 9 p.m., so I came over to play some volleyball," she said. Men’s basketball is held on the adjoining court on Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. "I thought this would be fun. And it is,” she continued.

Karen Swindel returned to the court for the second time. “I work in downtown Pittsburgh, so it’s a little hard for me to get here in time, but you got to get moving. Get out there. You know?”  

Jeff Lininger is dedicated to the sport, “Several of us are in an adult league. We play over at the Bronson House in Washington on Sunday.” Lininger added, “In the summer we like to play outdoors. The group will meet at Thomas Church or over at Simmons in Bethel Park, but in the winter you can find us here.”

Lininger got his whole family into the act. His son, Jake, and daughter, Brooke, play in high school. He got his wife, Beth, and his in-laws into the sport, too.

 Mark Imgrund, another longtime player, mentioned, “I love the camaraderie. It’s a good group.”

Campbell stated, “We don’t just play volleyball. Sometimes we drink beer. We usually hang out afterwards.” The players have been known to frequent Hot Shots, or to commiserate over bad serves and congratulate awesome spikes.

Another upside of Thursday night men’s volleyball? Sometimes Pat brings cookies.