Little known to many, beach volleyball is a sport that involves more than merely hitting a ball over a net. The true volleyball professional also knows how to dance and pose while doing so. Many of our Thursday Night Beach Volleyballers can not only bust a move on the sand, but also seem able to strike a pose when the time calls for it.

This House of Pain fan from The Oneder Years (Caroline) shows that he knows how to jump around..

Oh this night, what a night for good friends, good net, and some damn good Volley.

And what better way to start off the festivities than with a good 'ol game of R/P/S.  It's almost as much fun as I can stand! (Plus: it reminds me of my slumber party days!)  But on to the Volley--let's dive right in.

Dive right in like this guy from Rough Sets (Orange) makin' what could be the coolest save of the night.  Score one for style.  But it's not just about lookin' good, it's about scorin' points (and havin' fun).

Here's Mr. Tall-with-long-arms (that's a compliment) coming up with a nice hop and quick tap to bring that ball a bit closer to seeing the astro turf first hand.

But that's easily countered by Mr. Super-jumper from Frittatas Forever (Heliconia) with a nice ball-meets-hand slap down again with astro turf on the mind.  Wow, that ball sees a lot of ground each night, and it's not even drunk (yet)!

Step up Volley Llamas (Kelly) and this guy who had a streak of good-serving mojo.  He wins the award for longest continuous serving of the night (sorry, there's no trophy this time, just mad props on the blog!). 

However, I wish there were a trophy for style.  Of course, we would have had plenty to give out down there on Chelsea Fields last Thursday.  This woman from SmartSetters (Red) has the form and poise of a Miss America contestant with all the force of a cannonball.

But she wasn't the only one with great style!  Just look at the focus here--almost as if this woman from Volleypop (Sapphire) and the ball were one.  To really hit the ball, one has to think like the ball, become the ball.

And for our final style award of the night, we have this server from Notorious D.I.G's (Black).  Just look, need we say more?  We didn't think so either.

Kickball can sure be an emotional game!  Just ask these social athletes who aren’t afraid to give their teammates a hug because, well, sometimes a high five just isn’t enough. Whether it’s through a loving embrace or a spirited chest bump, we sure loved seeing these players get into the team spirit Thursday at the LES Kickball Playoffs.

The men of POKO (irish) get ready for an aerial hug…

…and celebrate a Quarterfinal win

New Kicks on the Block (black) go for the group hug after their championship win:

But the most touching shot of the night was from these volleyballers, who stopped by to see some Kickball action after their Thursday Volleyball game.  After a rogue ball caused one of our players to drop his water, the only solace was the warm embrace of his teammate.

It's alright guys, just hug it out.

You take a nice leap in the air at the net, connect hand to ball and then force the ball down in a fast motion over the net to the other side, and there you have a successful spike in Volleyball. Thursday LES Volleyball Teams Itsy Bitsy Spikers (black) and Spikedelic (royal) have this specific play right in their names, so it is no surprise they were seen doing just that in the Spring II playoffs recently. Orville Ready Blockers (daisy) decided to get in on it as well in this small set of spikey pics...

Thursday Volleyballers, Spikedelic (royal) show us how to respect the sport of Volleyball by praising the ball.

All Hail the Volleyball...!

Winning!

That's the best way to describe Itsy Bitsy Spiker's Spring II Volleyball Season! Not only did they place 1st and receive Gold Medalist status, they also grabbed the coveted Bar Champs award over at Slainte! Here they are caught celebrating winning both awards by cheering, dancing, and posing. Congrats on such an eventful and fun season!

The Thursday Volleyball spike fest continued with a rematch between the Itsy Bitsy Spikers (black) and the Orville Ready Blockers (Daisy). The Itsy Bitsy Spikers were able to sweep the season series between these two powerhouses of bumping, setting, and spiking with a 3-0 victory.

Ana of the Itsy Bitsy Spikers thought her team has played well the past two weeks and is looking forward to the playoffs. Despite the arachnid inspired team name most players on the Itsy Bitsy Spikers have only two arms for smashing the ball over the net. Even without the extra appendages the Itsy Bitsy Spikers are hoping to ride this win streak into a volleyball championship.

Check out the interview with Ana here: 

The Thursday Volleyball crew has gone through one of the most grueling seasons in NYC Social history not even a net could keep these competitors down. The NYC Social statisticians and magicians are in agreement that this season’s Thursday Volleyball doesn’t have a front runner going into the playoffs as every team in the league is even in the standings with 3 wins and 3 loses.

Despite the great efforts from the evenly matched teams there can only be one champ, and more importantly one bar champ. Good Luck!