Powderbuff, a tradition that began at Grosse Pointe South just last year, is quickly approaching, and the anticipation for it is overwhelming. Powderbuff is a twist on Powderpuff, where male students gather in teams of about six to 10 and participate in a volleyball tournament. Within this tournament, each team will be assigned a current girls varsity volleyball player to coach them.
Olivia McMillin ’25, who has been on varsity volleyball for the past two years, is extremely excited to participate in this event for a second year as a coach.
“I am looking forward to this year being able to have this bonding experience one last time with both my teammates and the other guys in my grade,” McMillin said. “Beyond that, it will be very interesting to see if the guys who are participating in this event for a second year have improved at all.”
Chair of the event, Quin Grabowski ’25, states that there will be a collaboration with Devils Den but the event will run very similarly to last year.
“This year we do not plan on doing things a whole lot differently since last year was such a success,” Grabowski said. “The biggest change will be the combinations of all the organizations, especially because now we have Devils Den advertising for us.”
McMillin, also being vice president of the student association, believes that if student council and Devil’s Den collaborate it would ensure this event is the best it can be.
“Devils Den brings the spirit along with the crowd that is needed to make these events successful,” McMillin said.
For McMillin, the participation from the football team last year added to making this event both more successful and enjoyable.
“Last year, there were quite a few football players participating within Powderbuff and it was really great to see how hype they would get while playing,” McMillin said. “They really added to the fun atmosphere that us, as coaches, were trying to maintain during the game.”
Sam Craparotta ’25 was a part of the winning team last year and had so much fun, that he will be partaking in the event again this year.
“Last year our team revolved around lots of energy. We would get hyped after every point which allowed us to stay on track and win the championship,” Craparotta said. “I’m looking forward to winning the championship again, I really have no doubt in the two-peat.”
Grabowski is very excited for this to be the event of the winter. Considering there is not as much to look forward to within the winter she believes this will help keep up the South spirit.
“I am excited to hopefully see school spirit rise this winter with this upcoming event since there is not as much to look forward to without homecoming or football games,” Grabowski said. “I truly hope that this opportunity will help bring our school together and give especially the seniors another winter thing to look forward to.”
