A group of freshmen enjoy a game of wallyball in the CBU Recreation Center. While similar to volleyball, this sport has no out-of-bounds lines and uses walls as a playable surface to amp up the game. Spencer Findlay | Banner
A hybrid version of volleyball, wallyball incorporates the net and basic rules of volleyball with the walls of a racquetball court. It is a fast-paced, fresh twist to the classic sport of volleyball.
“Wallyball is essentially the same as volleyball,” said Won Kim, senior psychology major. “The main differences are that the ball is lighter and you can use the walls to bounce it off.”
Jared Chrisman, freshman civil engineering major, said the nets are lower, making it an easier sport.
Because racquetball courts are much smaller than volleyball courts, it can take time to adjust to the difference. Using the walls effectively to their advantage is another skill that new participants must learn as they play.
Chrisman tried the sport for the first time this semester. He and his friends tried wallyball after seeing other students play in the racquetball courts at the Recreation Center.
Wesley Yngsdal, freshman architecture major, said he did not know what wallyball was previously.
“We usually come here and play racquetball all the time and we saw that on the list of things to do was wallyball and we tried it and it was a lot of fun,” Yngsdal said.
Yngsdal watched YouTube videos of wallyball in order to find out how to play.
“I like the team effort, and you get to know people you didn’t know before,” Yngsdal said.
Shelby Freiscit, freshman business administration major, said wallyball is more casual than volleyball. She said she likes it because there are no out-of-bounds lines in wallyball. Freiscit also said wallyball can be an effective workout “if you play it for a while and it’s an intense game,” she said.
Chrisman said that although it is easier than volleyball, it can be as intense as players want it to be.
While wallyball is growing in popularity, Austin Wadlow, sophomore software engineering major, said he and his friends prefer raquetball.
“We always play racquetball instead if we have time,” Wadlow said.
As a fun sport to try out with friends, equipment for wallyball is available for checkout at the front desk of the Recreation Center.
