Spencer Tinkel
Staff Writer
On October 17th, during the first ever Fall Fest, New Hope-Solebury High School had its first ever outside Volleyball Tournament.
As leaves fell, emotions were high as teams battled it out against each other in angst to claim the title “volleyball champions”. Even though the tournament was held outside, standard volleyball rules were still applied. No touching the net, no carries, and team rotations/substitutions were mandated. As it seems to be with every competitive high school event, teams complained and moaned about skeptical officiating.
“Every team was out there to compete and win, so yeah, opinions about rulings were expressed. Every point matters in volleyball. With that being said, I do not think the complaining took away from the game itself,” a well-spoken Matt Mazza had to say about the officiating.
This aside, all of the games were competitive, and this is really all that can be asked for a school event. All eight teams felt they had a chance to win the whole thing, even in an single elimination format.
Matt Mazza had to add that in a single elimination format, “anything can happen. One bad game means elimination. It’s scary. You have to stay focused and play well the whole time.”
Matt Mazza’s teams did just that, as New Hope Fitness (team name) took home the crown.
“It was not easy, and just to reiterate what Matt Mazza said during the whole tournament, staying focused was our main goal,” Nina Coughlin had to say about the experience.
The prize? Four free car washes from Four Seasons in Logan Square.
“I honestly was not in it for the volleyball. Once I heard that free car washes were at stake, I trained hard for the tournament in order to take home a free car wash,” an exuberant Matt Steele had to say.
Needless to say, Steele’s car glimmered in the Senior Parking Lot that next Monday.
