By Beth Renkoski

8/01/07

Vanguard Volleyball Begins Season by Assisting Others

With the beginning of the 2007 volleyball season less than a month away, the Vanguard University Lions have set aside some time to use their talents in another way. In a joint venture with Concordia University, Vanguard’s Volleyball team will spend the next ten days (August 2-11) on a missions trip to Nicaragua and Costa Rica, using the platform of volleyball to spread the gospel and to bring gifts to underprivileged families in Latin America.

Head Coach Erikka Gulbranson and the Lions will begin the trip in Nicaragua with the opportunity to face some strong international competition against the national and junior national teams from Nicaragua and Hondurus. The scheduled exhibition matches will not only help prepare the Lions for the upcoming season, but help them develop relationships with local people for the purpose of sharing their faith.

Following stops in Managua and San Juan del Sur, the Lions will move on to San Jose to take on the teams from Costa Rica. While on location, the Lions will distribute gifts of personal items such as clothes, school supplies, and other necessary household items.

The Lions will return to California on August 11th and begin the fall preseason practices on August 13th. The Vanguard volleyball alumni match is scheduled for noon on August 18th and the Lions officially begin the season on August 31st, playing in Concordia’s Crowne-Plaza Labor Day Volleyball Festival.

Interested people may follow the Lions progress during the missions trip by using the following link, which may include blogs and journals from players or coaches on the trip as well as details and scores from the matches. http://volleytalk.proboards88.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1186262763

Trip notes from Coach Gulbranson