The year 2015 marked the debut of Palomar College’s first sand volleyball team and the college’s 22nd sport.

Palomar College athletics have ushered in a year of advancement for the department with the addition of sand volleyball and their compliance with federal Title IX, a federal law that provides funding to educational programs where there is gender equity between men and women.

With the debut of the sand volleyball team the Comets have clocked in a 5-7 record overall this season, with a 2-4 conference record, while under the tutelage of Palomar’s five time Pacific Coast Athletic Conference coach of the year recipient, Head Volleyball Coach Karl Seiler.

“There’s definitely a lot of competition in the conference which is good, because it’s going to make us work harder for our wins,” Player Brenna Mann said. “We’re setting the standards for all the teams that come after us at Palomar.”

Collectively as a team, these 15 women have all viewed the opportunity to represent Palomar College as its first women’s sand volleyball team as both a challenging and rewarding experience transitioning into sand, but also a collective effort to represent and put out their best work.

“Some days it doesn’t really hit me until we stop and talk about it,” Player Brittany Andrade said. “This is something in history for Palomar. It’s really cool to have this opportunity and to just have fun with it.”

A majority of the women on the team have grown and learned together inside the Dome last fall, while being on the 2014 women’s volleyball team, and have created a small knit family as a result.

The women’s volleyball team concluded their 2014 season with a 19-5 overall record and placed second out of nine teams in the PCAC.

The transition from a hard-static surface found inside the Dome to the constant shifting of outdoor sand has been a challenge for the athletes as they compete for the first time in sand volleyball, Seiler said.

“They’ve been training really hard; they’re understanding the game better than they did in the beginning,” Coach Seiler said. “They’re night and day better than when they first started.”

The women’s sand volleyball team holds their practice five days out of the week from 8 to 10 a.m. at Mission Hills Church in San Marcos.

“It’s awesome that this is the first class of my day; yeah its sucks getting up at 5 in the morning and driving down from Temecula, but while everyone else is sitting in a desk, I’m out here getting to play volleyball everyday,” Player Hayley Farnum said.

Sand volleyball is played in pairs against an opposing team, and while each member of the team only has their other half during the game they have all found support from one another as a collective team.

“I look up to a lot of the girls on my team,” Player Ephril Leach said. “The older ones who’ve been here all know what their doing and they really help me out when I’m struggling.”

Outside of sand volleyball, all the women on the team are all full-time students perusing their own academic pursuits and some have even taken on a college job.

Player Aspen Leudtke is a double major in business and psychology, coaches part-time outside of Palomar and has a full-time job as a manager at Jersey Mike’s, a sandwich shop chain.

Some women on the team came into volleyball and found it as their true passion after spending several years in another sport. Mann and Colleen Jones both played soccer for 10 years prior to playing volleyball, and Farnum was a gymnast for nine years while living in Wisconsin.

While each athlete on the team have standout characteristics and personalities, the majority have a strong trend toward reggae music and an affinity for giraffes. They also like hanging outdoors, the beach, and staying active and have all created a sisterhood within the team.

“No matter how crabby we get at each other, seeing each other every day, there’s always still that love for each other. Nothing can tear us apart as a team,” Player Vanessa Flores said.

The women’s team finished the season with a split in the OEC Kerri Walsh-Jennings Division Regional; defeating Orange Coast 3-2 before losing to regional host Golden West, who advanced to the state playoffs with the win.