HILO, Hawaii -- The Grand Rapids Community College volleyball team is back in Michigan after extreme weather conditions kept them in Hawaii an extra day.
The team traveled to Honolulu on Aug. 13 to scrimmage other teams from across the nation. According to GRCC's campus publication "The Collegiate," the team paid for the trip through fundraising events and hosting tournaments.
The 18 players and three coaches were scheduled to leave Hawaii Thursday, Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. HST. GRCC leadership decided to keep the team there an extra day due to extreme weather conditions, said Dave Murray, the school's spokesperson.
The team left Hilo on Friday, Aug. 24 at 9 p.m. after numerous delays caused by Hurricane Lane. They connected through Los Angeles and Houston before landing in Grand Rapids around 11 p.m. Saturday night.
Family members and friends welcomed players with cheers and hugs when they arrived. The team bonded through this stressful experience, said Head Coach Chip Will.
"You know, we're going to go through tough times throughout our season," Will said. "We understand that, so it was good preparation for us to kind of know how to overcome those types of thing."
The Raiders open up regular season play Tuesday, Aug. 28 with an away match against Glen Oaks Community College.
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