Sac State’s beach volleyball team celebrated the opening of its brand new sand volleyball facility April 16.

Under the sun, the team celebrated this milestone after having to commute to Folsom for matches and practices. According to Hornet Sports, the team’s previous practice venues at Livermore Community Park and Sacramento Softball Complex were 20-30 minute drives away from campus.

“I love the new facility,” said sophomore beach volleyball player Kalani Hayes. “We’re super grateful that they spent the time, effort and resources for us specifically, especially since we’re a female sport.”

The four full-sized courts are located on the west side of campus by the softball stadium and tennis courts. This milestone comes after four months of work before the final product was unveiled to the public. 

“Moving from indoor to outdoor training on the beach, the transition was really smooth,” said co-head coach Ed Jackson. “The biggest challenge has been playing and adapting to the different playing styles and strategies involved as well as accounting for the elements.”

In their transition, the team has gone from playing indoors with six players on the court, to playing outdoors on the beach with only two. Rules change based on whether or not the game is indoor and outdoor, and how the players train is different as well.

“Conditioning was a lot different,” said co-head coach Ed Jackson. “That was the glaring thing we noticed. Sand is different from hardwood, but after three or four days, the players got more acclimated and were less fatigued.”

The Hornets had their first set of home games in the new facility on the weekend of April 17. Sac State played three matches, losing all three.