The MBC volleyball team's record is 1-0 in conference games and 6-5 overall. With returnees Chris Hale, Melody Lundquist, Ro Potter, Melissa Weber, Koren Tompkins and Christy Rubatino, the Ambassadors came into the season with a good foundation. Adding to the team dynamics is National Bible College Athletic Association's Most Valuable Player for 1997, setter Tristen Yamamoto, who has returned after spending last season in Jerusalem. New teammates Vanessa Antin, Missy Stracke, Trisha Smith, Tiffany Ferderer and Charity Gibby complete the team.

Although the team has six returning players, it still has the challenge of incorporation new players. Assistant Coach Anne Cheng said the team is in the learning stages of communication and working together. "Each player is very independent, confident and talented," Coach Bill Bedell said. Unity is a goal the team is working toward, he said.

Chris Hale, senior and team co-captain, said this year's team is one of the most skilled teams she has been a part of since joining the team in 1995. "We work well together and have a lot of potential," she said. Coach Bedell said he focuses on each game as it comes, rather than the overall record. For the team, that means each player must set personal goals for every match, he said.

Coach Bedell said he is more interested in the team's personal growth than the team's success in sports. He said that he desires for each woman to have confidence in her identity in Christ and in the abilities He has given here. He does not want the women to be afraid of the talent God has given them, he said. When playing on a Christian team, unique ministry is involved, Hale said. "I think that volleyball and sports in general are such impacting ministries. I feel like my teammates hold me accountable and challenge me in my spiritual walk," she said.

Hale said that sports impacts people in two ways. The team ministers to each other, and each game is a ministry opportunity. The way that Christian teams represent themselves should be different than other teams. "I think some people don't see sports as the ministry they really are," she said. Last year, the volleyball team ministered cross-culturally to Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Coach Bedell stresses playing volleyball as worship unto the Lord. He said that people should give God glory by doing their best with their God-given talents. "Playing volleyball is a way to show our gifts and talents," Hale said. "We can use our talents to glorify the Lord in our attitude and giving Him glory after every game."