At the annual Iron Man volleyball tournament on Wednesday, the blue team, consisting of seniors Fernando Sanchez, Sam Gerlach, Zinedine De Leon, Ian Henigan, David Aussenhofer, Cino Sanchez, Josh Rodgers, Marcus Hendricks, and Luke Hill, served the black (junior) and red (senior) teams. Iron Man is hosted by Student Council (StuCo) and is a game against senior and junior boys. Although eventually losing, the juniors had a lot of ambition.

“Of course I’m going to win,” junior Joshua King-Walker said. “We have a good team and two good practices, and the seniors are not all that.’’

Historically, juniors have fallen short of victory time, and time, and time again. Last year as a junior, Marcus Hendricks didn’t win the competition.

“We lost all four games, but I’m coming back with vengeance this year,” Hendricks said. “I’m coming back 4-0! No lie!”

And come back he did.

In their first set against the red team, the blue team won the first set 25-16, lost 25-20, then came back 15-12. The black team beat the red team 25-19 and 28-26. This led the final round to be juniors against seniors. Luke Hill was ecstatic to play.

“I’ve played since sophomore year because they needed more people, and I was more than happy to do it,” Hill said. “I think this will be my first year getting the championship.”

In the last set, blue won 15-11. Joy filled the room, and hope clung onto the blue team like the summer heat. The second round led the blue team into a 15-12 victory. Another win under the senior’s belt.

“We all came to win,” Hill said. “Practice pays off, let me tell you.”