What does spiking a volleyball have to do with going on a safari and checking out giraffes, zebras, and other animals in South Africa?

In the case of Newtown High School's boys' volleyball team, potentially, a lot.

The Nighthawks, entering their third season since being established as a new varsity sport, are not fully funded; it must come up with money to pay for its buses, officials, equipment, and junior varsity coach. In an effort to help offset the roughly $5,000 to $6,000 it costs the program to operate each year, the Hawks are holding a silent auction at the NHS cafetorium on April 6, and the big ticket item at the auction will be a trip to South Africa, where the winner will be exposed to a different culture and get a look at animals perhaps otherwise seen only on television. The auction, which has no admission fee, runs from 6 to 10 pm, and will include a potluck dinner put on by volleyball team families.

All Newtown High teams are supplemented by the pay to participate fee of approximately $200-$250, but more money is needed for the Nighthawks, since they are not a long-established team. Next year, the Hawks will be fully funded. The hope for Coach Sandy Doski and company is for the silent auction to bring in enough money to help defray some of the cost to replace worn out uniform shorts, provide warmup jerseys, and fund the year-end banquet, while helping to keep the pay to play fee down, Ms Doski said.

The trip to South Africa is offered through the Zulu Nyala Group, which owns a remote piece of land in the middle of KwaZulu-Natal, and works with nonprofit groups to assist in their cause. The connection with Newtown volleyball is that sophomore player Robbie Morrill and his mom, Cheryl Mammen, won a silent auction trip to South Africa offered by Zulu Nyala through Newtown's Winterset Ski Club and went in the summer of 2015. Ms Mammen's mom, Marilyn Kiesel, and aunt, Barbara Clark, also purchased silent auctions for the trip.

Ms Kiesel, who lives in Rhode Island, volunteered to work with Zulu Natal to help facilitate trips through auctions, and with the volleyball team in need of funds, it was a natural fit to bring this opportunity to Newtown. Bob Morrill, Robbie Morrill's dad, and a solo acoustic guitar player, will perform at the silent auction. There will be a variety of items for attendees to bid on, including gift baskets. Newtown merchants have been generous in providing items for the silent auction, Ms Mammon notes.

The starting bid for the trip will be $1,500, and the excursion for two, which is for six nights of lodging, meals, and two safaris each day, is valued at approximately $5,000, Ms Mammen said.

"It's a very easy way for the team to make some money," said Ms Mammon, adding that winners have two years in which to go on the trip.

"It's a win-win for them," Ms Doski said of the people who end up winning the auction. "It's a great trip from what I've heard and they're helping sports here in Newtown. So I'm very excited. A lot of people have frequent flyer miles so now's the time to use them."

The winner will have a chance for an up-close look at the aforementioned spotted and striped animals, as well as warthogs and elephants.

"You see them all together at the watering hole," Ms Mammen noted. Part of their trip included a stop to view a sleeping cheetah, and at dusk, tourists got to see hippopotamuses as well, she said. "It was like National Geographic, right in front of you. It was incredible.

"It's more than just animals. You learn about culture, you learn about the people, you learn about the food," Ms Mammen adds. "It was such an incredible experience for us."

Robbie Morrill said among the highlights were seeing a two-day-old giraffe with its parents, and experiencing the culture, including dancing performances.

"It was a once in a lifetime experience. It was awesome," the Newtown volleyball player said.