When the nets aren't strung up, the volleyball court posts that permanently line many of Southern California's beaches look more like toothpicks stuck in the sand. Their mere presence embodies the cultural significance of the game-a phenomenon rarely felt in other parts of the country.
But five of the 15 Blue Devil volleyball players risked the "culture shock" to wear Duke blue for four years.
Seniors Pixie Levanas and Polly Bendush, junior Jenny Shull, sophomore Sue Carls and freshman Rachael Moss all hail from the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, and each have observed significant differences in the reception of volleyball at Duke.
"It's like us and lacrosse," Shull said, referring to the fact that most of the girls were unfamiliar with lacrosse before coming east. "Volleyball's just a lot bigger of a sport in Southern California, and everyone knows about it."
Carls said due to this familiarity, the popularity is much greater at home. Even so, top volleyball programs such as Nebraska and Penn State sell out every game, she said.
"There's a community fan base," she added. "It's just such a social scene-I'd love to see Cameron become that."
Although girls all over the country have the opportunity to play indoor volleyball, the beach game is something particularly-or at least originally-unique to Southern California.
The Association of Volleyball Professionals Tour has been consistently adding sites to its calendar in past years, but Southern California still hosts the sport's largest beach tournaments.
"The other girls play 'sand volleyball,'" Moss said. "It's not a culture, though."
With the advantages of year-round play in the form of competitive indoor clubs, the high school season and summers at the beach, Southern California players seem to have an upper hand when seeking the attention of local universities.
"But if you want to go to a great academic school and a great volleyball school, your options are very limited," Carls said.
The other options, however, make themselves available early to top high school senior recruits. Moss, the youngest of the Southern California Blue Devils, went through recruitment most recently.
"There's a lot of pressure to commit," Moss said. "Especially when clubs are saying, 'You have a scholarship on the table, take it.'"
The enthusiasm of Duke team members from the same area was very important to each of the players when they were making up their minds. Shull had her reservations, but she decided Duke was for her.
"If they can do it, and they're from the beach, and they love it out there, then I'm going to love it, too," she said.
Levanas and Carls played together at Marymount High School in Los Angeles, and the relationship that they developed as teammates greatly influenced Carls' decision to follow her high school "big sister."
"I had a mentor relationship with Sue-she was my 'little sister,'" Levanas said. "It was just more comforting for her to know that someone was already here."
It's one thing to lure a former a teammate, and it's another to bring in a former opponent. Carls used to play against Moss on what seemed like every weekend in club competition, Carls said. And now she's relieved to have Moss on her side of the net.
"I'm just glad I don't have to play against her anymore," she said.
Although comfortable on the team, the players said some things about the volleyball culture just can't be replicated. For example, Duke does not have a men's team.
"All the cool guys played volleyball [in high school]," Bendush said. "And here all the football players were like, 'men's volleyball players are pansies.'"
The girls also miss the sort of relationship that same-sport men's and women's teams develop.
"It's neat how girls lacrosse and guys lacrosse can meet up and do different activities together," Shull said.
Nonetheless, the volleyball team's success in the past few years, and particularly its success this season, is drawing larger crowds and greater community support, carving out its own place 3,000 miles from the Southern California beaches.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.