Sam Bunce
The journey to representing your country requires gruelling commitment and dedication to something which may culminate either in your wildest dreams or leave you with a lot to be desired. No matter if you reach those heights, garner status, and fulfil your pursuit of successes, it seems significant to reflect on what is always there to keep your unyielding passion for the sport intact.
In this latest instalment of Impact’s Students’ Sporting Stories, Sam Bunce sat down with Elijah Griffiths, who sketched out the sport of volleyball and his personal experiences as a player.
He also shared his thoughts about what success really means and how enjoyment and being surrounded by strong communities have emboldened him to continue playing.
Understanding Volleyball
Perhaps volleyball is one of those sports where you understand the rough gist of the rules and how it is played, but never really get a grasp of its inner workings. However, even if you are not an avid spectator, the rules ultimately underpin the sport. Griffiths offered an overview of the playing and scoring rules.
“Volleyball is a 6-a-side game where each team gets up to three touches of the ball and tries to get the ball to land over the 8ft net onto the opposing side’s court. Each point starts with a serve, there are no second serves, and each rally totals to one point.
“It is first to 3 sets, with the sets being first to 25 points, unless it reaches 24-24 where you have to get 2 points clear in order to win that set. If the game is 2-2 in sets, the final set is a tiebreaker that goes to 15 points.”
“Organised chaos” is what Griffiths characterised the sport as, and it is exactly that interplay between the physical demands of explosive athleticism and tactical decision-making he alluded to.
“I would describe volleyball from personal experience as fast-paced, tactical and thrilling. It is highly skilled and tests both physical and mental strength constantly. From the perspective of a spectator, volleyball may look a bit like organised chaos and a very action-packed, high energy sport.”
Griffiths’ Ascent to the National Team
From Liverpool to the Northern Ireland youth setup. It was always about incremental progression and pouncing at opportunities when they came.
Griffiths worked his way up from representing his local side and growing interest to persevering through the inevitable trials and tribulations of regional competition.
After advancing through the trial stages when the Northern Ireland junior staff whittled down the candidates, he reached his ultimate goal of competing for his nation.
“I started playing volleyball in 2021 after COVID for Liverpool Volleyball Club, mainly with the Under 16s squad and competing locally. I progressed to then playing regionally, representing Under 17s North-West and playing for Liverpool’s men’s team across the North of England. Two years later, I went to a trial for the Northern Ireland junior squad and was accepted and represented them in tournaments and events.”
Just when everything seemed to be panning out perfectly, Griffiths instantly endured a fatal blow to his hopes of soaring in volleyball and maintaining the upwards trajectory he had worked tirelessly to achieve when he picked up a wrist injury.
Yet, he admitted that this frustrating roadblock, which stalled his progress by sidelining him for several months, profoundly elicited heightened motivation to come back.
Griffiths wanted to reclaim what had been sorely lost – not just the exhilaration of chasing accolades, but the priceless feeling he always got from playing.
“The biggest setback was the broken wrist in my first game. Progressing enough to compete nationally and then not playing for half a year was very frustrating, but that made me want to play volleyball more and resulted in a deeper passion for the game.”
Nonetheless, Griffiths reminisced on the moments which stood out over the course of his time playing volleyball. They all seemed to encapsulate his fierce competitiveness to win – something entrenched into an athlete of his calibre still striving for success.
“There’s 3 that stick out: the first was a block I made that won a very close game for our Liverpool Under 18s team to send us to the Last 8 (the final round of nationals). Another was beating the top of the league while we were bottom in a 5-set thriller for our men’s team. Finally, the euphoric celebrations and emotions of beating the Under 20s Ireland team in 5 sets for the St.Paddy’s day challenge.”
How does Griffiths really define success?
When an athlete is pushed to dissect their views on success and why they have been able to continue performing at a high level, their array of achievements sometimes all of a sudden take a backseat.
Griffiths reinforced his persistent personal enjoyment playing volleyball and the feeling that he doesn’t have to deviate from the person he is away from the court. Meanwhile, his comfort and alignment with the communities he has been involved in elucidates the way his perception of success has been formed. For Griffiths it simply seems to be the welcome byproduct of enjoyment rather than an all-consuming incentive.
“I’ve continued playing because no matter the standard I always have fun, and the people in the volleyball world are so kind and fun to be around, which creates such a positive culture for the sport.
“I don’t pride myself on what I achieve through volleyball. It is more of a way to express who I am through the sport. It is easy to separate my sport from everything else, but I’d say Elijah in volleyball is the same Elijah you’d see everywhere else.”
Objectives for the forthcoming season
At the University of Nottingham, volleyball is brimming with talent across the teams. Griffiths outlined how his team performed last year and set out his personal targets for the year ahead.
“We played very well, we managed 2nd in the league behind the winners, who were UoN’s 2nd team. I’m happy with how our team has developed and always maintained a positive outlook for every game.
“My goal is just to keep progressing in every sense, as well as hopefully winning the league this year with the 3s. I would like our club to continue being a well supported and vibrant place for everyone and to keep working hard to get more trophies. Also, I would like to play and thrive in this year’s 5 nations tournament for Northern Ireland.”
One of the largest volleyball clubs in the country – by default we associate this with unrivalled success and trophies – but by digging deeper into the thoughts of one of many key players at UoN Volleyball, we can understand how the club truly prospers.
“I’m representing an awesome community through playing, and away from the court my teammates are a massive joy to be around, which gives the UoN Volleyball club a reputation of thriving positivity.”
You can follow all the action from the Volleyball club at the University of Nottingham on their Instagram @uonvolleyball to find information on trial dates and upcoming matches.
Keep an eye out on the beginning of their BUCS seasons in October and their Super League campaign against the very best in the country – some serious talent on show!
Sam Bunce
Featured image courtesy of Sam Bunce. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of Sam Bunce. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of Sam Bunce. No changes were made to this image.
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