The first impression of junior Peter Wlosinski and senior James Banach, president and vice president of the UB Rolling Rhinos, is that they are notably earnest about the club sport they manage.
They speak with passion, enthusiasm and pride about the accomplishments this year's men's volleyball club team achieved.
Approximately two weeks ago, on April 8, the Rhinos traveled to Charlotte, N.C. to compete in the 2004 National-Intramural Recreational Sports Association's (NIRSA) National Championships.
"We're talking the best of the best club teams," said the 6-foot, 1-inch Banach, an outside hitter with 35-inch vertical leap. "Between both the men's and women's, 236 teams comprising six divisions were in Charlotte, and many of the teams had the ability to compete right up there with NCAA compliant varsity teams."
This year's NIRSA tournament marked the 20th anniversary, and the second-seeded Rhino's had their sights set on yet another top 10 finish in their 36-team IAA Division, a feat they've accomplished six times (including this year) since the 1990 season.
However, on April 11, in the Charlotte Convention Center, the team found themselves playing Duke University in a match no other Rhino team had ever appeared in - the IAA championship match.
"The intensity was a lot higher against Duke," said Banach. "There were professional referees opposed to student-athlete refs that refereed the first seven matches of the tourney."
"It was also something totally different from the regular season," added Wlosinski, also an outside hitter. "There were announcers calling kills, blocks, aces, and actually using our names."
The Rhinos jumped out to a one game to nothing lead against Duke with a 25-20 lead, despite a height advantage in favor of Duke. But in the next two games, Duke exploited that advantage and took 25-18 and 15-11 victories to take the championship.
And while Banach was probably the team's most consistent player throughout the season, several other Rhinos earned All-tournament accolades for their efforts in Charlotte. Wlosinski was honorable mention, middle blocker Jeff Smietana and setter Page Tsai garnered second team honors, and 6-foot, 4-inch big men Brad Schwagler (outside hitter) and Brian Chamberlain (middle blocker) were each named to the tournament's first team.
Schwagler led all Rhinos with 70 kills over the four days, and Chamberlain led the way with 26 blocks.
As a team, UB finished the regular season 27-6 record overall, including a 12-0 undefeated Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) division record, which along with Buffalo includes James Madison, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Lees McRae, Penn, Penn State, Rutgers, Delaware, Navy, Maryland and Case Western.
UB also won two of the three regular season tourney's in which they competed in - the UB invitational and the Fredonia tournament. They finished second at the University of Kentucky's North/South Tournament in March.
The Rhino's have even higher hopes for next year, losing only two to graduation, including Banach, who calls the Rhinos "a great chance for competitive volleyball players to compete at an extremely high level."
"It would be scary to think what we could accomplish with all the resources and funding of a varsity program," said Banach.
For more information on the UB Rolling Rhinos, visit their Web site at http://wings.buffalo.edu/sa/mens-volleyball/Homepage.htm.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
