On Tuesday, September 3, the McPherson High School Junior Varsity and Varsity volleyball teams both had a special night where they participated in a triangular against Circle and Winfield, which took place in the roundhouse. These were their first games of the season, and the girls showed great energy and excitement as they warmed up before the games.

Tuesday was also “Go Gold Night” where spectators were encouraged to wear gold or another shirt relating to the cause of fighting cancer. There was a fundraiser set up outside of the entrance of the roundhouse. WACCC (Women and Children Combating Cancer) was selling T-shirts and spreading awareness about their important cause. Some of the things this amazing group does include give free mammograms to women during the summer, give out “combat bags” filled with useful items like blankets and gift cards for gas to women and children going through treatment. “We try to take the stress off of them when we know they’re going back and forth to appointments,” said one of the volunteers at the table.

To help raise funds, they hold many fundraisers at McPherson High School, especially at sports events. There are also a couple of other fundraisers that they hold throughout the year. If you would like to learn more about the cause, they have a website at www.wacccinmac.org containing more information. They also took time in the middle of the triangular to make a tribute to Ike Bauer and Hayes Schmid, two kids battling cancer.

The McPherson High School varsity volleyball girls had a spectacular evening on September 3rd with their games against Circle and Winfield. In the first game against Winfield the Varsity girls won their first set 25 to 18 and went on to win the second set 25 to 12. The second game against Circle was even more exciting. McPherson was up 16 to 12 and Circle came back to tie the game. It kept going back and forth until McPherson won 26 to 24. In the second set against Circle, McPherson won 25 to 20.

Ella Schmid said, “I think it went good for our first couple of games and not that many practices. The team has really good chemistry and worked together all around.”

Brett Doile said, “ I thought we all worked well together and it was a good time for our first game. It went really good yesterday and we can only get better from there so I think this season is going to be pretty good.” 

In the first game against Winfield, the Junior Varsity team won both of the sets 25-20, a good victory for the start of the season. However, they lost the first set of the second game against Circle 24-26, which was a close loss. The second set was tense with the pups taking an early lead. But Circle tied it up towards the end, making it unclear whether or not we would go to a third set. Unfortunately, the pups ended up losing the second set as well with another close score of 25-27. 

However, the girls continued to support each other throughout the game, and remain optimistic, which shows in what they had to say about last night’s matches and the season ahead of them. 

“We could have had more energy, and we definitely could have done better,” said Tailynn Buettgenbach. In regards to the rest of the season, she said “I think we’ll do good cause we had a good start, as long as we keep our energy up and our confidence up.” 

“I have high hopes,” said Avery Strathman in regards for the rest of the season. “I mean, last night’s matches were tough and we played really well and we kept our spirits up and worked well as a team so I think that the season should go pretty well.” 

The Varsity team’s next game is on Saturday, September 7 at 8 am, and will take place in Hutchinson. The Junior Varsity’s next game is on Tuesday, September 10 at 5 pm, and will take place at Rose Hill. Good luck Bullpups!