Volleyball and four-square have come together as spikeball at Ferris State.
Ferris professional tennis management seniors, President of the Ferris Spikeball Club David Perzaghi and Vice President Chris Wilkins, started the club this year and look to bring the sport recognition. They began playing spikeball in 2013 when a friend introduced them to the sport and now they are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in Michigan.
Wilkins said, “We started playing the game with our buddy and we looked it up online and found out there were a bunch of tournaments to travel to so we competed a bit and that’s how we got our one and two spot in the state.”
The game is similar to two vs. two volleyball except the “net” is a small trampoline in the middle. Four players surround the net with opposing players across from each other. The server spikes the softball-sized ball to the net and play begins.
The objective of spikeball is similar to volleyball in that the offense attempts to make the ball hit the ground on the other side. In spikeball, there is no true other side. Once play is set in motion, any player can move anywhere.
Once a player hits the ball to the net, the ball changes possession to the other team which has three volleys to get the ball back to the net. If the ball hits the ground or the receiving team hits the rim of the net, the hitting team gets a point. The first team to get the designated amount wins.
Penalties can occur for running into opposing players or moving the net, but anything goes other than that.
Spikeball’s creator, Chris Ruder, sold his idea on the NBC show, “Sharktank” and the sport has taken off since.
The Ferris State Spikeball Club hosts open play on Thursdays from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the Rec Center aerobics room for those who want to try out spikeball.
Perzaghi said, “Everyone loves spikeball. They just don’t know it yet.”
Those who want to join the club can contact Perzaghi or Wilkins at terzagd@nullferris.edu or wilkinc8@nullferris.edu. For more information on the rules and the sport itself go to usaspikeball.com.