Ever played spikeball on the beach? If you were any good, this club might be for you!

Roundnet is a club sport at Penn State with 55 members. The co-ed team is divided into two divisions: Division I and Division II.

Each year, the team attends the involvement fair to recruit new players. You can also usually find them playing on the HUB lawn, and they love it when people come up to learn more about the sport!

Tryouts are simple — play the game. With around 100 nets set up, 10 evaluators walk around assessing each player’s skill level, competitiveness, and willingness to learn. This year, about 155 students tried out, and around 208 last year.

The team is made up of 18 women and 37 men. They practice every Monday and Thursday, but many members also play pickup games daily.

Roundnet competes in sectional tournaments in both the fall and spring, followed by nationals in the summer. Last year, the Division II team won College Nationals, while Division I finished fifth after losing in the quarterfinals.

But the team does more than simply play. Club president Jake Hurst emphasized the group’s close-knit bond.

“We go trash bag sledding, hang out at each other’s houses, live together, and go on adventures. We have these things called Otis Adventures. He was the first member of our club, and he used to take us to do things like cold plunges, hiking mountains, and other wild stuff,” Hurst said.

Hurst has been president for two years, and he has a lot of favorite memories. But one in particular stands out for him.

“Winning our first sectional in the fall of 2024. The series was tied 2-2, and the final game count came down to our C-line. My partner and I lost to them earlier in the day, and all eyes were on us. Probably 200 people were watching us, and we ended up securing it. Then we hung out the rest of the night at JMU. The whole night was an excellent memory,” Hurst said.

Hurst first started playing in 2016 at his sister’s graduation party.

“It was a game I wanted to play a lot because of all the diving around. I would just play casually with my brother and my friends. Then I came to visit my brother at college, before this was a club sport, and I saw they were all out playing spikeball, like a 100 nets. I knew this was my type of school, and I wanted to play here.”

The team is also very involved with THON and has danced for the past three years. Roundnet is paired with the Devin Pulaski Family and spends a lot of time with Devin and her little brother, Trevor.

For students considering joining, Hurst had a simple message: “There’s no place where you’ll have more fun, feel more loved, and be more supported than Club Roundnet. It’s amazing to see the growth of each individual who comes through our club.”

To learn more about Club Roundnet, check out its Instagram.