Gorlok Volleyball Returns From Dominican Republic Trip

Webster University's Volleyball team spent its 2020 spring break traveling from dreary St. Louis to sunny and the warm Dominican Republic.

The Gorloks, who are coached by Merry Graf, took 17 student-athletes, three coaches and seven parents who made the trip to the Dominican Republic. The trip was organized by the Dominican Baseball Camp.

Among the players that went with the Gorloks on the trip were senior setter Jenna Rodriguez (Smithton, Ill./Freeburg), senior right-side hitter Sarah Jacobs (Carbondale, Ill./Murphysboro) and junior libero Kristen Farrah (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell), who all played their final volleyball matches as Gorloks. In addition, the team's senior manager, Claire Martin, was also on the trip.

"The trip was a huge success and left us feeling very blessed and fortunate to have helped the residents of the Dominican Republic while we were visiting their country," Graf said about the trip. "The people we met were amazing and quickly found their way into our hearts.  This trip combined much-appreciated service work with team bonding.  We will all remember this trip fondly."

The volleyball team was the second Webster team to go to the Dominican Republic this school year as the Gorloks Baseball team, which is coached by Bill Kurich, went to the Dominican Republic during fall break in October.

While in the Dominican Republic, the Gorloks played three volleyball matches as they faced La Romana on March 8, Santo Domingo Club Calero on March 9 and Santo Domingo Centro Olimpico on March 11. 

The Gorloks lost 3-2 to both La Romana and Club Calero and posted a 3-2 win over Centro Olimpico.

In addition to playing three matches, the team conducted a volleyball clinic with 52 campers in attendance, participated in a house painting project in a small village, visited an orphanage in Boca Chica and had dinner with some prospects from the Kansas City Royals and took some Dominican dance lessons.

The clinic on March 8 was held on one outdoor court, a small indoor space and a dozen balls for 52 participants.

"I thought our team did a great job with the clinic of getting the attendees involved and having fun despite the space constraints and the language barrier," said Graf. "At our final match of the trip, many of the kids from the clinic were in attendance to cheer for us."

On March 9, the team participated in a house painting project in a small village that some of the parents on the trip helped with. After the house painting project, some of the players explored a nearby cave.

On the fourth day of the trip, March 10, the team visited an orphanage in Boca Chica that had 55 girls. At the orphanage, the team toured the facility, played games and volleyball with the girls and watched the girls in the orphanage perform a dance. 

"Our players also had a dance party with the girls and it showed how music crosses all cultures," the Webster coach said. "The trip to the orphanage was by far a favorite for many of us on the trip."

Later in the evening, the team had dinner and had a joint activity of Dominican dance lessons with some baseball prospects from the Kansas City Royals. The group of Royals prospects also came and cheered on the Gorloks in its final match against Centro Olimpico.

STORY COURTESY OF WEBSTER UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION