Match Point is a transmedia storytelling project focused on the rise of boys' and men's volleyball in the U.S. This year, the project centers on an original documentary that follows the inaugural season for the SIAC,
a conference comprised of six new men's volleyball programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Project Overview

The Match Point Project is the result of a yearlong collaboration between First Point Volleyball Foundation and the Center for EMDD in the Department of Journalism.

Boy’s and men’s volleyball is the fastest growing sport in the United States. The latest installation of the Match Point project focuses on the expansion of men’s volleyball in the NCAA. In 2021, six Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) – Benedict College, Central State University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, and Morehouse College – started men’s volleyball programs in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). This year’s Match Point project chronicles the HBCU’s inaugural season, as well as the contributions they make to increasing diversity and opportunities for minority athletes in men’s volleyball.

The Match Point team traveled across the country for interviews and match coverage during the 2022 NCAA men’s volleyball season. The team traveled to Chicago to cover the Boys’ Winter Volleyball Classic, a massive tournament for dozens of teams from across the country. They also joined Men’s National Team head coach John Speraw and the UCLA Bruins in Atlanta for a week while they conducted clinics at local elementary and middle schools and played matches Morehouse and Fort Valley State University. EMDD graduate students and undergraduate journalism students collaborated to cover these events for both the documentary and the transmedia campaign.

The Purpose

The Match Point project is designed to share stories about men’s volleyball, the increasing diversity within the sport, and the SIAC-HBCU expansion. Each HBCU team is predominantly comprised of Black or minority student-athletes. In 2019, the SIAC received a $1 million grant from First Point Volleyball Foundation ($600,000) and USA Volleyball ($400,000) to fund the addition of men’s volleyball. First Point Volleyball Foundation was founded in 2016 by UCLA men’s volleyball and USA Men’s National Team head coach John Speraw.

The Website

The Match Point website, was designed to be the universal hub for the transmedia storytelling campaign. It was created to promote the documentary and exclusively share the projects created by this iteration of the Match Point team. The website provided direct access to the Joust Blog, Aces Only Podcast, documentary trailers and teasers, and links to all of the social media content on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

The Documentary

A team of undergraduate journalism students worked with the graduate team to write, direct, film, and produce Match Point 2.0, the sequel documentary featuring the growth of men’s volleyball through the SIAC-HBCU expansion. The story primarily follows the Central State University’s men’s volleyball team. The documentary also stars John Speraw, the head coach of the Men’s Olympic Volleyball team, Fort Valley State head coach Larry Wrather, Central State head coach Ray Lewis and members of his team.

The Tournament of Stories

Tournament of Stories was a campaign for coaches, athletes, and fans to share why they love volleyball. Eight finalists were selected, and the volleyball community participated in a single-elimination tournament hosted on Instagram by voting for their favorite stories. Round one of the tournament had over 4,700 views and 850 likes across the eight finalists. The final four had over 1,600 views and 404 likes. The championship round had over 3,100 views and 1,100 likes. With just 12 more votes, Khairi Mitchell from Atlanta was crowned the Champion.

Social Media

Social media hosted original storytelling in the form of graphics, photos, and videos. We also published links to blog posts, podcast episodes, and competition information. The Match Point social media campaign included three platforms: Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

Our biggest engagement came from Instagram – @matchpointmvb – where we published 62 posts, 116 stories, 17 videos, and eight reels. In less than 90 days, that content reached more than 50,000 accounts. Each week, we posted stories about the six HBCU teams. In Spring 2022, we had a 10 percent increase in total followers, as well as 38,000 views/plays of our reels content.

Blog

The Joust blog, included news and feature stories. The editorial team was composed of undergraduate journalism students and EMDD graduate students. The best performing story was Volleyball vs. Basketball: What’s the Difference?

Our Team

Ten undergraduate students contributed to this documentary and related transmedia campaign. Click here to check out a full list with team members names and their contributions.

Our Project Partners

USA Volleyball is a non-profit organization recognized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball and the United States Olympic Committee as the national governing body of volleyball in the United States. It was founded by the YMCA of the USA in 1928 and has a mission to lead and grow all areas of the sport of volleyball.

The First Point Volleyball Foundation was founded in 2016 by John Speraw, USA Men’s National Team and UCLA Men’s Volleyball Head Coach, and Wade Garard, a nonprofit executive. This organization’s mission is to raise awareness for boys’ and men’s volleyball in the U.S. by supporting men’s collegiate volleyball and by increasing opportunities for boys to learn the game. These efforts also include increasing opportunities in low-income communities.

Overview

Purpose

Projects

Team