Varsity Volleyball Boys are one game closer to another championship
On September 11, 2019, the boy’s varsity volleyball team (otherwise known as the SISAC undefeated champs of last season) kicked off the new season with their first league game. Although many beloved and crucial members of the team graduated the previous year, including team captain and setter Michael Lee, libero Jason Qiu, outside hitter Alan Wu, and middle hitters Humbert Lai and Bryan Sai, the remaining and newest members of the team were buzzing with excitement and optimism. Their energy was utterly contagious.
The boy’s coach this season, Coach Derek Janssen, expressed his respect for the team’s work ethic and his faith in them as the boys were warming up, saying, “I really feel like their dedication has been rubbing off on me… if you’re going to talk about the boy’s volleyball, you need to talk about how much work they’ve put in the off-season, preseason, and over the summer. They’re a real tight-knit group, and they really push each other to the next level.”
Knowing how much work they’ve put into the off-season, one might expect the team to be uptight—but that couldn’t be further from the truth. During an interview, middle hitter Hassan Qureshi (12C) joked, “Are we going to be famous after this? I only do interviews if they get a million-plus views.” The team has a shared sense of humor and chemistry that translates best into their gameplay.
“It’s all about the team work, and about going out there and giving it a hundred percent,” Michael Baek (12A) expressed. The team agreed, and outside hitter and captain Timothy Lin (12C) summed it up, “Honestly, we’re just really excited.”
And so it began. Setter Oscar Su (11B) started the game strong with a jump serve that make jump serves look easy, and the crowd was riled up already. The first rally ended with a spike from Timothy that slammed an empty spot on the other side of the net. They were just getting warmed up. A particularly intense rally sent Oscar diving onto the bleachers for the ball, successfully getting it back to his team and leaving the crowd stunned. Several ace serves, spikes, and tips from some of the team’s newest and youngest players, Chester Poon (11C), Jun Fu (11C), Wenhei Wong (11A), and Evan Chang (11B) only further amplified the team’s confidence. Before the crowd knew it, the first set flew by with a victory of 25-14.
The second set brought in a different combination of players delivering the same energy of confidence, positivity, and eagerness. Libero Jiwoo Kim (12A) dove for every unforgiving spike and unpredictable tip, sending the ball to second setter Brendan Wang (12B). Brendan sent the ball flying, only to be met perfectly with the open palms of outside hitter Evan and middle hitter Chester—and shortly after, the squeaky gym floor on the other side. As players transitioned in and out of the game by Coach Derek’s call, the crowd cheered on. The second set ended with another victory of 25-23.
As the third and final set played out with yet another victory of 18-16, the crowd went wild. One game closer to another championship.
“We have a tendency to play to the level of our opponent, and last night our opponent was not the best team,” Brendan said about the game. “But we pushed through and didn’t play to their level, and exceeded our own expectations for ourselves.”
Just from watching them play, you can tell that the players are savoring every last moment of this season—especially the seniors. “It’s the last time we’re going to be playing the first game of the season,” Hassan said.
As the seniors show off their experience and accumulation of hard work in their last season and the newest players grow into their positions, show your support by attending home games to cheer them on!
Featured Image– The starters on the court, ready to play courtesy of Esther Tak (12C)
By Jessie Wu