“Mine, mine, mine!” is often heard throughout lunch after a group of students decided to start playing volleyball on the front lawn. The group has grown in popularity and regularly has 20-30 people playing at one time. 

The group started with a few players trying to start a volleyball club but it quickly grew and became a staple of the 2020-2021 school year for in-person students. 

“We have been playing since November,” sophomore Noah Myers said.  “I’ve met a lot of new people and made a lot of new friends from the group. It was pretty surprising and cool to be honest because now there are over 20 people playing.”

Myers had started the group first semester when students went back to school.  

“I started the group,” Myers said. “First semester there was literally no one here and I was just bored so my friends and I were creating the volleyball team for the school and I was in a club, so I just brought a volleyball and see how that goes. Eventually it built up slowly.”

Senior Dominic Lehighton also was there for the start of the group and helped get it started. 

“At first this started because Noah, me and some other kids were trying to start a boys team, a club to play competitively,” Leighton said. “So it started as practicing and then other people wanted to join and it kind of just turned into a more fun casual thing to do during lunch.”

One of the parts that everyone enjoys is that every grade level can play together and everyone is welcome to join. 

“It’s pretty cool to see all the grade levels playing together because normally it is separated by grade level, so few people know people from other grades,” Myers said.  “It’s cool to be able to bring all of them together and everything.”

Other original members felt similarly, citing inclusiveness as a main aspect that makes this group unique. 

“It seems cool, I have never really thought about it because I usually stay friends with people in my grade level and now more recently, I have been becoming friends with people from other grade levels,” junior Isaac Harris said. 

Some, like sophomore Scarlet Hauck, were new to volleyball when they joined the circle.

“I started playing for the physical exercise and I wanted to try it out and it was fun,” Huck said.  “My favorite part would have to be volleyball and the people we get to play with and hang out with.”

While the pandemic negatively impacted most, this lunchtime volleyball circle was born from it and is now an integral part of school. 

“I think it is very interesting to see an easy way for different grade levels to connect,” Leighton said. “I think my favorite part of the group is that it is a casual thing, and everyone can join in and have fun even if they aren’t that good.”