ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- Sixty-three percent of Storm Lake High School students are non-Caucasian.

You might call them minorities. You'd be wrong. They're majorities here.

"We have Hispanics, Sudanese, Laotian and students from other Asian and African countries, to name a few," says Rick Anderson, now in his 20th year as athletic director at Storm Lake High.

The school, which had an enrollment of about 500 in 1989, now educates 700. Few Siouxland schools can make a growth claim like that.

The growth -- most of it among first- and second-generation immigrants attracted by meat-packing employment opportunities -- hasn't often translated into athletic success. And many Storm Lake High School students rarely attend a school football, basketball or baseball game as spectators.

That changed last week when six donors in the Buena Vista County seat gave $100 to underwrite the cost of sending six pep buses to the Tornadoes' regional final volleyball match against Bishop Heelan High School.

No. 1 ranked Heelan dominated, winning three games to zero to earn a 12th straight trip to the Iowa Girls State Volleyball Tournament.

Storm Lake's netters finished with 26 victories, six losses. It was the program's best season ever.

It might have been more successful off the court. That's my conclusion after watching 300 students hop off their pep buses Tuesday and give it their all from the bleachers. For some, it was the first high school game or match they'd seen.

"I've only seen volleyball in the Pan-American Games on TV at home in Mexico," said Elizabeath Mancilla, a Storm Lake High School sophomore who lives with her godparents in Storm Lake. Her parents live and work in Mexico.

"My godparents told me I could ride a bus to the game. They knew it was important for me to watch because my father used to play volleyball in Mexico," she said.

"I came tonight because people invited me," added freshman Yasmin Santizo. "It's the first time I have ever seen a match."

"I wanted to experience one away game," said Stephanie Araiza, a senior. "I've never been to one before. This is exciting!"

The pep bus phenomenon began two weeks ago when Storm Lake lost a chance to host a postseason match against Harlan. When the match was moved to nearby Lake View, school officials posted a sign-up sheet for a pep bus. Nearly 150 students signed up, rode the buses and helped inspire their Tornadoes to victory.

The momentum carried into last week, only this time more buses were needed. When officials found 300 names on the bus list, they made some calls. Took all of 60 minutes to raise $600 to pay for the buses and provide sandwiches for those on board.

While the Tornadoes didn't beat Heelan, the fans had a ball. They chanted, did "The Wave" and sang the school fight song. They did one Sudanese cheer.

"We've had some success in athletics before, but I don't know where we've had this many in the student body fired up about one sport," said Anderson, adding he received e-mails from administrators at Heelan who lauded the Storm Lake student section. "It's been a real positive for the whole school."

With each pep bus, the school conducted a drawing and gave away an activity pass. A black student won one of the passes Tuesday. He approached Anderson two days later with an issue weighing on his mind.

"The young man asked if his mother could use the pass instead," Anderson said. "This young man is a basketball player and said he won't need the pass. He wanted to know if his mom could use it instead."

The woman, Anderson said, had an older son play basketball for Storm Lake High last winter. She didn't attend a game.

Why? Said Anderson, "She couldn't afford it."

The woman will get her son's winning ticket. The Tornadoes, I suspect, will win over another fan.