The Chico State men’s and women’s club volleyball teams competed in the National Collegiate Club Volleyball Championships April 3-5 in Reno, Nev.

Despite rough regular seasons for both teams, the clubs saw Reno as a chance to play a sport they loved and enjoy the experience.

“It was definitely a rough regular season, but once we went to nationals we played like a real team,” said Megan Miller, senior and member of the women’s club team. “We knew we were going into the tournament better than the team we were presented as and that gave us hope.”

David Irving, a first-year member of the men’s team, enjoyed the tournament because it engulfed him in the sport he grew up loving.

“There are 4,000 students from all around the country in one room to do one thing, and that’s play volleyball,” Irving said. “It’s an amazing experience. Everywhere you look there is volleyball.”

The tournament was more than just playing volleyball. It became a time to build lifelong relationships with their teammates.

“The camaraderie between the two Chico State teams is amazing,” Miller said.

After watching the national championship game, chants of “Chico, Chico!” were heard through the hallways of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, she said.

“We had people in the convention center who did not know where the little town of Chico was chanting along with us,” Miller said.

A relationship that originally started last year at the national tournament in Dallas continued this year. The Wildcats also built a friendship with the Rowan University club team from the town of Glassboro, N.J.

“We developed a friendship with this team from across the country, from a school that we have never heard of before,” Miller said.

The men’s team finished 34th in the nation, an improvement of their ranking going into the season. The women’s team defeated University of Southern California, which was the highlight of the season.

Greg Silvia can be reached at [email protected] or @gsilvia on Twitter.