Months ago, a group of seniors decided to make their final year at ILS a bit more exciting. With a pandemic disrupting the norm, they found an alternative way to bond for their final months: volleyball.

Now, posters of 10 seniors on coach Danny Saladrigas’ team are vividly displayed inside the ‘Lions Den’. Although many aren’t first-year players, they hadn’t experienced a full season yet, due to COVID-19 halting their 2020 campaign. That said, they’ve used each other to fight against their lack of experience.

“A lot of us wanted to play volleyball to try something new,” said Maximus Betancourt, one of the seniors on Saladrigas’ group. “We knew we could improve upon our skills. We all joined because, in the end, it’s fun.”

The boys had been preparing since the fall, consistently meeting at David T. Kennedy Park to face the ILS girls’ volleyball team, who was their source for development. Although the results varied when it came to winning, their involvement helped them learn and grasp the required skills. And though they concluded the season 3-6, there’s no hiding the effect those sessions made on the players.

“Practicing at Kennedy helped us immensely,” said senior Yohance Forde. “You think you’re good at something until you realize the skill ceiling. Then, you strive to push for that. I think we pushed it because of the beach volleyball we were able to compete.”

The Lions wrapped up their campaign Monday to Ransom Everglades (25-12, 25-11, 25-15), coming off an impressive road victory over Plantation American Heritage (20-25, 25-13, 25-14, 25-20). That playoff loss to Ransom knocked them out of contention for the 1A D28 District.

That said, it wouldn’t be right if the boys hadn’t gone out in fashion prior to the season ending, which is exactly what they did.

The event was Senior Night against Coral Gables, where Betancourt, Forde, Alejandro Alvarez, Jeronimo Canedo, Melvin Soto, Pablo Amat, Alexander Ferro, Gabriel Xirinachs, Noah Coronado and William Hernandez were honored pregame with a commemorative frame displaying their jersey number.

Prior to the pre-game, the seniors had gone all out, entering the gym properly attired with suites while recording themselves on a GoPro. While it was meant to be satirical amongst all, it showed the connection the group had, and how a game requiring a net and ball helped create forever lasting memories.

“The volleyball season helped me go from being friends with some people to becoming family,” Betancourt said. “After going through this, you get closer with everyone on your team.”

The Lions made things sweeter in their home finale, overcoming a two-set deficit by capturing the last three, ultimately defeating the Cavaliers (21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-7) in spectacular fashion. The team was led by Canedo, who had 18 kills, one serving ace and two blocks. Forde added 9 kills and one ace, while junior Carlos Gomez had eight kills and nine blocks and Soto garnered five kills, four serving aces and one block.

Such a win was cherished by all, which was seen seconds after Gomez iced the fifth set in fashion. After, everyone rallied to celebrate the comeback, while acknowledging it as their final game at ILS.

Now, many of those seniors look to close out their athletic careers in other respective sports, while for others that stage in their life has come to a close.

In the end, they got to cherish one another one last time before separating once graduation hits.

“This season really brought me closer to some people I already know,” Forde said. “But it also connected me with some lower classmen. It might not sound like it matters but getting to meet some freshmen and ask them all these questions about our school put perspective in my eyes and that my time at ILS is soon sone. It felt like I was passing the torch.”