WASHINGTON (AP) — Laughs and the occasional celebratory scream pierce the calm quiet of the gym and the sound of volleyballs bouncing off the hardwood floor. It is practice time at for the women’s volleyball team, which is made up almost entirely of deaf and hard of hearing players and led by a deaf coach. Gallaudet is preparing to play in the Division III NCAA Tournament, the next step in an incredible season for players who do their talking in American Sign Language and are thriving in a sport that for most teams relies heavily on verbal communication.
“There are times where people think that we’re just trying to distract other teams,” senior middle hitter Jada Zarembka said in ASL through an interpreter. “In actuality, that’s how we communicate with one another. But if that’s how others want to see it — as simply a ploy to distract them — let it be that.
” Zarembka and her teammates are 30-4, captured a second consecutive United East Conference title and have won 22 matches in a row going into their tournament opener on Thursday. The Bison have not even lost a set in a month on the way to the first back-to-back 30-win seasons in coach Lynn Ray Boren’s nearly two decades in charge. “This is best team that I’ve coached,” Boren said in ASL.
“It’s really just been a fun team to watch.” Volleyball is popular in the Deaf community because of the face-to-face nature of the action, and banners commemorating conference championships line the walls.