High school students ‘hit’ the volleyball court on Sunday, November 1st for a Students in Action promoted fundraiser. This fundraiser, which raised over $800 for a Padua-sponsored house in Sudan, allowed both Padua girls and Salesianum boys to come together and make teams to compete for the title of the 2015 Volleyball Tournament Champions.

In total there were 13 teams: All About That Ace, Setsy & We Know It, Tune Squad, Average Mo’s, America, Hula Scoopers, Hotline Bump, Shooting Stars, The Plugs, Notorious D.I.G. XXXVII Skinny Pop, KOJCHA’s, and the Gold Diggers. As the afternoon winded down, three faculty members, Ms. Wrambel, Dr. Wise, and Mr. Mac, and two alum played a friendly game. Both alum, Stephanie Annone (‘15) and Sarah Cushing (‘14), previously played for Padua volleyball all four years of high school. Despite the alum’s volleyball skill, it seemed as if it was a very close game.

The Tune Squad, who went 4-2, came in 4th place and the Hula Scoopers, who went 3-1, placed 3rd. The overall champions were KOJCHA’s who beat out The Plugs in a championship game that could’ve gone to either team. While the beginning of the game see-sawed back and forth, eventually KOJCHA’s pulled ahead and ended the game at 20-13, leaving the tournament as undefeated champs.

Heather Plystak, one of the 6 freshmen on KOJCHA’s, says that her expectations weren’t very high. “I thought the tournament was going to be very slow. When I played for Padua JV it was very fast-paced, I didn’t expect it to be what I’m used to.” However, because the usually illegal plays weren’t being called by the Students In Action refs, there were often long and exciting volleys between teams.

Some players, especially the boys, towered over the girls on KOJCHA’s. “Even though we were under-estimated, our years of volleyball experience quickly proved them wrong and we were no longer a surprise to the other teams,” Heather says.