Friday Oct. 18 Milligan students gathered on the sand volleyball court outside of Hart Hall for a tournament sponsored by Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The volleyball tournament was done in single-elimination style, where a team is eliminated after their first loss. The event was student led.
Junior FCA President Julia Codispoti has been on the leadership team for FCA the past two years. “We have done this tournament ever since I have been in college, and I decided to carry on the tradition since it has always been super fun,” Codispoti said.
In the few weeks leading up to the tournament, FCA members held sign-ups in Sutton lobby. The tournament was open to students and faculty members alike; the only requirement was forming a team of six members and creating a team name.
Eight teams competed in the tournament, and out of those eight teams the “Comeback Kids” and “Three Strikes, You’re Out” made it to the championship round. “Three Strikes, You’re Out” won the final game 25-9.
“Since FCA is known as more of a sports-oriented group, the tournament is something fun that everyone can sign up for,” Codispoti said.
The rules varied during each round of the tournament. The first round was only played to ten points. The teams advancing to the second round would play to 15 points, and the championship round was played to 25 points.
Senior Kayla Baker emceed the event by announcing the winners of each round and who would be facing off on the sand court next. When Baker was not using the microphone, popular rap music was playing over the speakers accompanied by a color changing light that illuminated the leaderboard.
A table was also set up with pepperoni and cheese pizza from Little Caesars that was donated by Hart Hall, and FCA provided Gatorade and water for players and spectators.
Displayed on the pizza and drink table was a poster created by Hart Hall Resident Assistant Dani Bryant. The poster showed the importance of being active as well as highlighted opportunities to do so on campus and in the East Tennessee area.
Some ideas on campus that were featured on Bryant’s poster included joining intramurals, jogging or walking around campus and swimming in the pool. The poster also listed popular hiking trails in the area.
Headline photo: Two teams face off at FCA tournament.