For Homecoming Week’s Ruff N’ Tuff, boys from each grade played head-to-toe in insane volleyball matches. These amazing games pitched grade against grade and raised spirit to crazy levels, really giving a kick to the excitement!
The games of the year started with a match between the Juniors and the Sophomores. The match started pretty close, but the Juniors took the lead and kept it ending, with a final score of 22 against the Sophomore’s valiant effort of 12. The Seniors and the Freshmen kept the excitement going with an exciting game with cheers that raised the roof. The Seniors had a decisive victory of 23 to 13, but the Freshmen weren’t ready to give up yet.
Ruff N’ Tuff isn’t only about the players facing off in these matches, it also brings the Homecoming dance up to a whole new level. Miles Huddle, a player on the Freshmen team said, “It gets the excitement up because you have your team trying to get Spirit points, and the student section is cheering them on.” This feeling goes all around, as a senior player, Ronaldo Cordova pointed out, “The atmosphere is so nice and being able to compete with every class, having fun, snapping jokes, it is just so much fun, everyone really likes it.”
After a quick team pep talk, the Freshmen and Sophomore got back onto the court, both with third place on their minds. The Sophomores started strong, but the Freshmen dug in with teeth and claws until the end, where they fell back. The Sophomores got third place with 24 points, and the Freshmen in 4th with 15.
This third-place match seemed like only a beginner’s game compared to what came next. The Juniors ran onto the court to try for the spot in the finals against the teachers. But the Seniors weren’t gonna give up this honor to anyone else without a fight. The first serve was thrown, and the game became an increasingly exciting match of dives, spikes, and points. With each point, the crowd grew wilder and wilder, until the final minute, where the game could go either way. The Seniors were only a couple of points behind the Juniors, and they tried to raise their scores enough to challenge the teachers, but the Juniors denied their victory. The match ended with an impressive 19 points for the Juniors and a close second of 16 points for the Seniors.
Now there was only one more obstacle between the Juniors and the victory of 2024’s Homecoming Ruff N’ Tuff. The teachers. The Juniors weren’t fazed though, one of their coaches, Riley O’hara, described a change in strategy, “We are going to tell the players to tip the blocks instead of just hitting it as hard as they can because it will help get some extra points.”
This best-of-three game was expected to be the best of Ruff N’ Tuff. And it didn’t disappoint. The first serve was thrown and the teachers looked to be doing much better than the Juniors. After a quick and fun match, the teachers had 25 points and the Juniors had 17. After their defeat in the first match, the Junior team was determined to crush the teachers in the next two.
The ball was served, and the Juniors got point after point, gaining them an eight-to-nothing lead. But the teachers weren’t gonna lay down and lose, they fought back, each team gaining points for the next few minutes. The teachers seemed to gain a surge of strength, closing the seven-point lead the Juniors had on them, leaving both teams at 19 points. This was the real test as each team fought, trying to reach 25 points before the other, and the Juniors pulled through. They won this match with 25 points against the teachers’ narrow loss of 23!
Now for the final match. The ultimate honor, the life or death, the Homecoming Ruff N’ Tuff power. The match would be played to 15, and neither team looked ready to lose. The match was off, the teams staying together. As points built up on both teams, the players played harder and the crowd cheered louder. A seemingly impossible save by the Juniors here, an impressive block from the teachers there. Finally, the match was almost over. Both teams were close to 15, and sure enough, the teachers pulled ahead, but the Juniors weren’t far behind. The teachers were at 16, and the Juniors at 15, and now for the game point. The serve was off, and the ball was spiked and bumped until the teachers made one final hit, and scored the final point.
The Juniors had put up an impressive fight, but in the end, the teachers won Ruff N’ Tuff and spiked some major excitement for the Homecoming dance this Saturday.
