Photo by Owen Simmons  

Freshman Taylor Loesner prepares to return the ball back over the net at beach volleyball practice. She plays with freshman Macy West.

     Although beach volleyball and indoor volleyball seem to be the same sport, there are many things that differentiate them. The main difference is the courts, indoor being played on a hard floor, while beach is played in the sand. Beach volleyball courts are the smaller of the two, which correlates with the number of people on a team. Beach volleyball is played in pairs, which is a third as many as the six on an indoor volleyball court.
     “[In beach] you can’t use your fingers, you have to tip with your knuckles and the set has to be perfectly clean,” Loesner said.

     The team, coached by Danny Callis, plays against teams such as Conley, New Bern, Croatan and Swansboro, traveling to New Bern and sometimes Apex almost every Saturday. Unlike Rose indoor volleyball, the beach volleyball team consists of both girls and boys. However, girls and boys teams do not play against each other in games/tournaments.
     “It’s always girls against girls, but there are boys teams too,” Loesner said.
      The team practices at Boyd Lee Park every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Practicing keeps them conditioned and prepared for competition.
     “We scrimmage each other and do drills to get ready for tournaments,”Loesner said.
     Beach volleyball continues to grow and influence players of all ages, especially at Rose. It also teaches them life skills and lessons they will use in the future.
     “[Its taught me] to stay strong and to stay mentally prepared for everything,” Loesner said.