This year, McQuaid Jesuit’s Varsity Volleyball team planned a trip to Puerto Rico, but after both Hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed mainland Puerto Rico, the trip was cancelled.

The tournament location was going to be Colegio San Ignacio De Loyola: McQuaid Jesuit’s brother school located in Downtown San Juan. The tournament at Colegio San Ignacio was set to host a number of top-notch volleyball teams from around the world.

As San Ignacio prepared for Hurricane Irma, the school had not yet decided to cancel the tournament due to the unknown path and power of Irma. After Irma hit San Ignacio and left devastating damage to the campus, the tournament was called off.

Damage to the campus included damage to classrooms, extensive damage to the gymnasium, as well as a lack of power throughout the campus.

McQuaid Jesuit then reached out to Colegio San Ignacio.  Head Coach Dr. Christopher Parks reflected on the Team’s priorities given the difficult situation.  “The Team’s number one goal is very genuinely to help student athletes continue to become good young gentlemen, so when they leave McQuaid they are good young people,” he said.

Staying true to the Team’s values, McQuaid Jesuit then attempted to send the volleyball team to Puerto Rico to help with cleanup at the school, but the voyage was deemed too dangerous because a lack of resources made the trip risky for the Team. The school is still closed and is preparing to reopen later this month.

McQuaid had a rough start to their season, missing out on many valuable games in Puerto Rico, but the Knights still went on to play in the sectional finals before taking a devastating loss to rival Penfield.