Brianna Barnes reporter 

Oct. 15 at the Student Recreation Center, the PSU Homecoming Committee put together a volleyball tournament called Jungle Jump. This event, along with Raft Races, Yell Like Hell, banner painting and other homecoming activities, all decided what organization would win homecoming champion this year. Participation from organizations in competitions and attendance of organization members went towards points for homecoming champion. 

“It was such a good time. It was so good to grow in fellowship with not only my organization, but the other organizations around me, as well as to get to see us all come together,” said Katie Groom, a junior majoring in nursing, who played with Gamma Alpha Lambda. 

Sixteen teams participated including Phi Sigma Kappa, Alpha Gamma Delta, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Lambda Chi Alpha, Newman Club, Sigma Chi, and Honors College Association in a bracket. In another bracket, there was Sigma Sigma Sigma, Black Student Association, American Concrete Institute, Gorilla Activities Board, Pi Kappa Alpha, Student Government Association, Sigma Tau Gamma, and Gamma Alpha Lambda. 

“Planning and hosting Jungle Jump was a lot of fun. It’s a new event that we added this year to homecoming week for organizations to get competitive but still participate in homecoming. We were very pleased with the turnout for spectators and teams,” said Brooke Cunningham, kick-off chair for homecoming committee and a senior majoring in business management. 

The first-round winners included Alpha Gamma Delta, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Newman Club, Sigma Chi, Sigma Sigma Sigma, American Concrete Institute, Gorilla Activities Board, and Gamma Alpha Lambda. The semifinal round was Alpha Gamma Delta, Newman Club, Sigma Sigma Sigma, and Gamma Alpha Lambda.  

“My favorite part was getting to have fun but getting to be competitive too. We were all really into the game and that made it a lot of fun,” said Lauren Flood, a freshman majoring in elementary education unified, who played for the Newman Club. 

There were two volleyball courts going at a time, with a single elimination bracket. The final game was Gamma Alpha Lambda and the Newman Club, who won the tournament overall. 

“My favorite part about putting together the tournament was seeing all of the teams from all different organizations come together to be involved during homecoming. I loved seeing all of their organizations then come to support their teams play in the tournament,” said Cunningham. 

There was a very large crowd of people who came just to watch and cheer on their organizations. Most students had large amounts of positive feedback and hope to see this event next year. The tournament went surprisingly quickly with little complications. However, with it being the first time hosting this event, there was confusion for teams on when and where they played. 

“I would say maybe just a little bit more organization on where teams were at when we were first playing. It was pretty crowded over on the concrete, so maybe a little more organization on that side of things,” said Groom. 

Many students who attended and participated in Jungle Jump hope to have it again next year and plan on participating again.