On the 27^th of July, at 05:30am, TuksVolleyball players, two coaches and two team managers, stood ready to embark on a 1100km trip to represent the University of Pretoria at the 2015 USSA Indoor Volleyball Tournament in Port Elizabeth. The tournament was to be hosted by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), from the 29 June – 03 July.

The team arrived in PE late on Saturday after a very long 13 hour trip. On Sunday the team used the day to rest, explore PE and settle into their home for the next few days, Linguile Lodge. Both the men's and the women's teams were looking forwrad to the week ahead and the opportunity to test their mettle against the other competing institutions.

TuksVolleyball Men
The Team:Sean Maliehe (captain), Johan Lombard, Samuel Mundawarara, Sanele Mndzebele, Kgaogelo Moloantoa, Sheunesu Makura, Jong Hyon Pak and Markus Müller.

The Results:The men improved their 2014 position of 16^th to 11^th place in this year’s tournament, which was a great achievement for the young team of players, many of which attended USSA for the first time. “We are very proud of our players, we played with determination and all the energy needed to achieve victory. We did not bring a medal home but all our effort were not in vain, we moved up 5 positions in the standings. We are come home conscious about all the hard work that we still need to put in to be one of the top 4  teams in the future. Our athletes bravely accept the challenge for USSA 2016, and an even better standing shall come,” said Coach Dr Lauber Martins.

TuksVolleyball Women
The Team:Magrit Springer (captain), Jaimee-Lee Wentsel, Vanessa Sardina da Silva, Shani Klopper, Bernadette, Kutso, Dominique Gachet, Chelsea Mandy, Sympathy Moyo, Tanya Jansen, Nomcebo Sithole, Thumo.

The Results: The Tuks women only lost one match throughout the tournament resulting in them narrowly missing out on the qualifiers for 1^st – 4^th position. The team secured 5^th position overall. The women’s team surprised the crowed with some phenomenal volleyball, one game in particular can only be described as a sheer demonstration of pure dedication to the will to win and never give up, regardless of how gruesome the score may be. “The tournament showed how much each of our players has grown and how the team as a whole, has improved over the past two years. There is always room for more growth, but we are proud of what we have achieved as a team. Our players showed tenacity and perseverance on the court, especially when playing tough opponents. We will be aiming for gold next year”, said Coach Dina Gladis

Dominique Gachet, a first year member of the women’s team said this about the tournament; “[it was] one of the best learning experiences of my life. In terms of playing techniques, I've learned more in this tournament than I have in a couple of weeks of training. Apart from anything that I've learned, I couldn't have asked for a better team to go to USSA with. Tuks Vamos”

Despite neither of the Tuks teams medalling  the tournament was a success for TuksVolleyball, as the clubs overall position improved from the previous year.A special thanks to the coaches Dina Gladis and Dr. Lauber Martins, for taking the time to coach and mentor the teams for USSA, as well as a special thanks to Tawney Gierke and Erik Wolfaard for their roles as team managers.