The Varsity volleyball team competed in Rockhurst High School’s annual volleyball charity game along with St. Teresa’s Academy Feb. 5. The varsity team including seniors Lucy Voysey and Ellie Chaffee played Rockhurst first, beating them in 2-1 sets. STA followed losing to Rockhurst in 2-1 sets. Together, the three schools raised $2,168 with students contributing $387 of the total. The game last year raised about $1,500.

“We raised about $700 dollars more than last year and that is going to make a huge difference to these causes,” Rockhurst Student Body President William Tampke said

This year, players from each school play competitively or on varsity, whereas last year students who played were unable to play for a team. STA also brought their varsity volleyball team from this past season and the Rockhurst students have played competitively as well.

“We were under the impression last year we thought that it would be a Missouri State High School Activites Association violation to have the actual teams play,” Tampke said. “Turns out that is not the case, so this year we wanted to have a real volleyball game that included each school’s best players,”

Just as volleyball games during the season, students dressed up in theme. To mimic the boys, students dressed up in jerseys and Hawaiian shirts, while STA dressed in all denim. Scream team leaders seniors Aidan McEnerney, Mandy Mayer and Mary Evans lead the student section in cheers and the school song.

“I liked when we screamed in men’s voices ‘S.T.O.R.M,’” senior Megan Breckinridge said.

Although the student section was small compared to STA’s and Rockhurst’s, the people who did come showed a lot of spirit and made the game special, according to Student Council Senior Class President Haley Ulowetz.

“It’s honestly so meaningful to have been a part of something like this and winning is just the cherry on top of it all,” Ulowetz said. “I’m so proud of my volleyball team and I had so much fun on the sidelines.”

Rockhurst hopes to continue the game in the future because they provide much-needed help for the charities, according to Tampke. Though they only started last year, a volleyball competition between the three schools has happened in the past.

“I hope that the underclassmen continue to host a volleyball game. For a long time, Rockhurst did host it but it stopped around 10 years ago due to poor execution and was never brought back until we restarted it last year,” Tampke said. “I hope that our underclassmen find a way to keep it relevant and fun so that it doesn’t fade away like last time.”