Annual Sports Swap Shines on the Hill

Although the Female Football game has taken place annually for years now, the Boys Volleyball game is a new addition.

The Boys Volleyball game took place during Assembly. Several spectators commented that watching the game was a very enjoyable and entertaining experience. Nadia Goodman ’25 said, “I thought the Boys Hop Volleyball game was a great idea! Hop only offers a Girls Volleyball team, so it’s a fun and entertaining way to see other people’s skills and an opportunity to bring the school together.” Arielle Rieder ’23 agreed: “I watched the game with my friends, and we thought it was nice and refreshing to watch with the girls football game”.  

The game was packed with many unpredictable, yet exciting, twists and turns. Some notable events within the first set included a multitude of successful spikes by Jack Laganza ’24, and a serve from Soren Ekstrom ’24 that earned the juniors a point. Although the seniors were initially winning 5-2, the first set ended with the juniors triumphing 15-10. The second set was just as action-packed as the first. The seniors managed to win the second set 10-8, due to victorious serves by Brandon Chung ’23 and Mike Kluger ’23 as well as several triumphant spikes by Savan Parikh ’23 and Chung. As a result, the final round was sudden death. Chung served the ball to Eli Ratner ’24, who passed it to Liam Yin ’24 who in turn spiked it over the net, resulting in an overall win for the juniors. Luke O’Connell ’23 said, “Despite the loss to the Juniors and the temporary feeling of defeat, I had an awesome time competing in front of the school in the volleyball game at Assembly. Plus, any sense of defeat was erased when the Senior girls avenged our loss in the Female Football game against the Juniors.” 

Volleyball players said that the game proved a wonderful addition to Hopkins culture. JJ Yang ’24 said, “When we heard there was a possibility of having male volleyball, we were so excited and took that eagerness right to the court. From when it was first announced, the juniors had already jumped right into practicing and preparing, setting up lineups and rotations.” Chung stated, “I absolutely loved getting to play. I’ve always liked watching and playing volleyball and getting to do so with my friends made it that much more fun. It also made me realize how difficult all the different aspects of the game are and made me appreciate all the hard work the Girls Volleyball team has to put in to be a strong team.” 

The annual Female Football game occurred during H block on the same day. Despite the freezing weather, a large crowd of students and faculty arrived to watch. Tanner Lee ’23 said, “The game was really exciting, and also a little high stress to watch. There were a lot of other seniors supporting the girls on the sidelines, ensuring that players were ready and energized.”

To prepare the girls for their upcoming game, Eli Ratner ’24, one of the junior coaches, stated, “We had Friday practices during H block for a month and a half leading up to the game. We started going through simple drills with the girls - catching, throwing - but as the game approached we began to put in plays and figure out rosters.” Daya Baum ’24, Anika Gurjar ’24, Seb Kombo ’23, and Nina Gernhardt ’23 all scored touchdowns for their team. Eventually, after a thrilling yet suspenseful hour, the game concluded with the senior girls winning, thanks to a last-minute touchdown by Nina Gernhardt ’23. Several of the players found participating in the game to be a very positive and enjoyable experience. Arielle Rieder ’23 said, “Emotions were running high after the game, and I think the entire senior class was very pleased with the win.” 

Many sophomores are eagerly looking forward to their chance to participate in both games next year. Edson Garland ’25 said, “The Boys volleyball game was really exciting to watch, and I can’t wait for a chance to play!” Anya Mahajan ’25 echoed Garland’s statement, saying: “I loved watching the football game, and personally I really look forward to getting the opportunity to play next year.”