The Buff Puff tournament was an excellent cause to raise money for breast cancer awareness and provided plenty of entertainment along the way. 

The admission money that the school collected at the doors was donated to breast cancer research in honor of breast cancer awareness month. 

“My grandma almost died of breast cancer, and she went to Buff Puff. It was cool to see all the money going to a good cause, especially with her in attendance,” said senior Collin Cameron. 

The champion team, Death From Above, dominated throughout the tournament and scored 80 points, allowing only 32. This team consisted of Michael Locke, Thomas Calder, Nick Nowell, Scotty Hocking, Collin Cameron, Garrett Love, Caysen Loutzenhiser, and Ben Ryan. Varsity volleyball player Addie Raebel coached them. 

“Our team winning it all was all of our practice paying off,” said senior Michael Locke. 

“Addie Raebel coaching us was a huge help. It was fun seeing everyone there to cheer us on. We creamed every opponent.” 

Death from Above defeated their first opponent, Buffer Fish, 25-7. In the second round, there was a highly anticipated matchup between Notorious D.I.G. and the eventual champions. Death From Above rose to the occasion and won this set, 25-12. In the championship, they defeated the teacher team in two sets, 15-5 and 15-7. 

Thomas Calder described that their 4-5 days of preparation for the tournament led to the championship. He claims the team knew they would be the eventual champions when they beat Notorious D.I.G.

“We knew mostly where everyone was and what to do. Ben and Nick helped out a lot on big spikes and got a lot of our kills,” Calder added. 

One of the headline contributors for the championship team was the younger brother of All-American volleyball player Katy Ryan, junior Ben Ryan. Ben received high praise from his teammates, who appreciated his volleyball abilities.

“After weeks of practice it was good to see our work come to fruition. We had a couple lapses but everyone played excellent and Scotty was our hype man,” said Ben Ryan.

Ryan said his favorite moment of the tournament was blocking Mr. Long.

“It was either we scored off a serve or a kill from Ben. As soon as we formed our team, I pretty much knew we would win. I think that Ben was the best volleyball player out of every player in the tournament,” said senior Nick Nowell. 

“Scotty came in clutch with the trash talk. Addie is a W coach.”

Scotty Hocking was pumped following the tournament and had a lot of controversial confidence. 

“We performed well because we had full confidence and mentally broke down the other team, making them want to quit. We had no mercy and never stopped the mental battle,” said Hocking. 

“Even down by five in the first game, we knew we would win. Ben and Garrett stood out better than anyone else. Nobody compares to Ben, a.k.a. Katy Ryan Jr.”

Sharing Hocking’s enthusiasm, Cameron said, “Ben Ryan is the greatest volleyball player ever discovered. I looked like the joker, so I was intimidating everyone. The teacher team was honestly overhyped.”

“I’m proud of how much we improved in the little time we were given. Nick and Thomas played really well and performed above expectations. It was a fun experience,” said senior Garret Love. “We didn’t get down on each other and didn’t let anything affect us. We kept a high composure the entire time.” 

Breast cancer research is an excellent cause, and the champion team of the Buff Puff tournament had the night of their lives on Tuesday.