On Nov. 22, students and staff competed against each other during the ninth annual Student vs. Staff Volleyball game. The game ended with a 36-30 victory for the students, marking their third consecutive win and bringing the overall series to 6-3 in favor of the students. 

The game was competitive, drawing significant anticipation as the teachers sought to even the score after last year’s loss. Both teams entered the game with high energy, though their approaches differed. “There’s a couple strategies,” social science teacher Steven Mobley said. “One is trying to get the ball over the net as quickly as possible. And two is to actually do the whole ‘bump, set, and spike.’ And I like to do the latter. I like to do the bumping and setting and trying to get a spike so we can actually get a point. So I actually like to play that way versus when the ball comes over, just immediately sending it back.” 

The game began with the students and staff tying with a score of 10-10 in the first set. However, the students edged ahead during the second set, having a strong lead of 25-19. The final set saw both teams exchanging points in a close contest, but the students pulled away in the final minutes to secure the 36-30 win. 

Communication was also a key strategy for the staff. “We kind of know the strengths of people,” Mobley said. “There’s a lot of staff emails actually going on about it, like who wants to play where and who wants to play when. So we’re communicating a lot more this year than previous years.”

While members of the staff team focused on playing strategy and communicating with each other, the students walked into the game with specific goals they wanted to achieve. “I’m not violent, [but] I want to try to get Mr. Clear, and if not him, I want to get Ms. Leach,” senior Rishit Choudhari said. “I want to see Mr. Clear upset and frowning.”

On the other hand, math teacher Nicole Turner hoped for a staff victory. “[I hope to] absolutely destroy the students,” Turner said. “We’re trying to be more organized rather than just doing a straight rotation. We’re hoping to do some strategic subbing to keep people in their best locations.”

This year, there were multiple sets played, but only one continuous score to eliminate any confusion as to who won. “[In previous years], the staff won the first two sets, but then [during the] third set, [SCA] was, like, ‘Okay, we’re going to quickly play to 10,’ but the staff already won [the first two sets],” Mobley said.  “But then all of a sudden, the students won the [last set] to 10, and they were announced as the winners. [This time], there’ll be no question — you either have the most points or you don’t.” 

Senior Mihir Peta was crowned MVP for the second time, his first after the 2022 Students vs. Staff Volleyball Game for his dedication to ensuring the student team won. “I don’t want to sound cocky, but it was expected, to be honest,” Peta said. “I won it sophomore year; I should have won it junior year, but I couldn’t play. So I came back for redemption senior year.”

Gallery • 8 Photos

Ananya Karthik

English teacher Shelby Whittington and Technology Assistant Glenn Colucci both jump into the air in an attempt to block the incoming ball that was sent over by the students.