A spike in funds for girls volleyball

On April 22, Yuba City High School hosted an event that had never been seen before at the school. It involved a net, a ball and 12 male students. What took place on that evening was Powderpuff volleyball.

Volleyball, a sport dominated by female athletes, was played by the men of YCHS in an effort to raise money for the girls' volleyball teams. Each grade level had assembled a team of fine young men to battle on the court.

The evening opened with a match up between the seniors and juniors. The format was best two out of three games. The seniors scored the first point of the night and easily took the lead from there. The juniors made a valiant effort to catch up, but they were no match for the dominating force of the seniors. The seniors swept the first game, soon followed by a victory in the second game.

When asked what made the win look easy, senior player John Holloway spoke to the importance of teamwork: "It's a brotherhood. We take care of each other out there."

The juniors faced their loss with grace and dignity. Junior Ryne Williams said, "We could have played better, but we all had a lot of fun, and hopefully, we'll have better luck next year."

The senior-junior game was followed by the sophomores versus the freshmen. The freshmen stormed on to the court adorned in very distinct uniforms. Each wore a pink T-shirt and skin-tight short-shorts. These shorts were credited for enabling the freshmen to quickly win two games and their match against the sophomores.

Freshman Brandon Taylor said, "The short-shorts are definitely a must. They build character. It was exciting to beat the sophomores because all week they'd been telling us how much better they were than us."

The evening wrapped up with the main event. The seniors came back to the court to play against YCHS staff. The staff team consisted mainly of volleyball coaches, but Athletic Director John Ithaburn and Sutter County Supervisor Jim Whiteaker clocked a lot of play time as well.

When the seniors faced their opponents, they were apprehensive at first. "We had no idea who was on the staff team," senior Sam Sykes admitted. "When I saw all those coaches, I thought they'd annihilate us."

But the seniors proved themselves worthy opponents. The staff took an early lead in the first game, but the seniors made a comeback. In volleyball, the winners must win a game by two points, and the evenly matched teams forced the first game into extra points, with the staff squeaking in a win.

The second game belonged to the seniors, however, leaving it all down to the tiebreaker. Both sides played tremendously, but the staff eventually took home the victory, showing that experience can trump pure athleticism.

"Overall, it went really well," senior Powderpuff coach Annabel Mendoza said. "The boys had a lot of fun. It was a great fundraiser, and I hope it continues on for years to come."

Nick Scribner is a senior at Yuba City High School. His column appears about every sixth week in Education.