By Jacqueline Risch

Bump, Set, Spike! And the underclassmen boys beat the varsity girls in Tempe Prep’s first ever Powder-Puff Volleyball Game! This exciting event took place on the morning of Winter Formal, originally a battle between the underclassmen and upperclassmen boys. The winner then moves on to play the varsity girls team. These teams were coached by Bree Van Dahm, Emilie Garcia, Jatzia Felix, and Chloe Darling, who taught a variety of techniques so the boys could work as a team and excel on the court.

Originally, the first Powder Puff game was held during Homecoming week as a girls football game coached by the varsity players. The idea for a Powder Puff Volleyball Game quickly followed. Chloe Darling says it began since “I really loved Powder Puff, and I love volleyball, so I figured why not put them together! I’ve always thought TPA should have a boys volleyball team, so I just thought this would be a really fun idea.”

The teams had three practices that involved learning “the basics, since you can’t have a game without serving and passing,” Chloe states. The teams also worked on offensive strategies, even playing each other in scrimmages, to ensure they had the best possible chance at winning.

Sophomore Parker Conley, who plays club volleyball, was able to assist his coaches by “showing [the boys] techniques, and the drills I do at my practices.” His advice, along with Bree and Emilie’s guidance, gave the boys enough of an advantage to pull ahead of the upperclassmen, and win their game!

After the event, some of the players gave some of their highlights of the game. Junior Noah Teters describes his favorite moment of the game when he blocked Hayden Sampson at the net, who Parker describes was “crushing balls” into the other team’s court. Parker continues, and explains his highlight was “getting closer with the guys, the freshmen that I didn’t know, and be able to share something that I have a passion for with them.”

As for an upperclassmen highpoint, Noah recalls “Cannon (Kartchner) just (flying) across the gym floor. After his hard shoulder injury, just seeing him be a pure athlete again was a sight to behold.”

From a coach’s perspective, Bree really enjoyed seeing the “competitiveness of all of the guys, since they were full of such (energy) to win. The best part of coaching was seeing their happiness when they won against the upperclassmen because I knew how badly they wanted to win, (along with) seeing that all their hard work pay off.”

Although the upperclassmen boys may have lost their game, they are eager for a rematch next year. “The underclassmen are going to lose next year because we have Parker,” warns Noah. Coach Chloe also advises the underclassmen to “be ready. You’re not going to know what’s going to hit you.” Watch out Knights, Saturdays are for the upperclassmen boys.