![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Girls’ Varsity Volleyball defeats Mercy SF on Senior Night
To a gym brimming with eager supporters, the girls’ varsity volleyball team recorded a four-set victory over Mercy San Francisco on November 7 in the Senior Night match.
After narrowly losing the first set 22-25, they re-energized and gained momentum, going on to win the match in three consecutive sets at 25-19, 25-19, and 25-16.
Key players of the match included Divya Kalindindi (12), Shreya Dixit (11), and Shannon Richardson (10); they contributed to the win with 20, 12 and, 14 kills respectively. Divya, Shannon, and Mercedes Chien (12) rounded out the match with 7 aces between them.
The bleachers were filled with over a hundred enthusiastic fans, many of whom brandished green and white pom poms while cheering loudly. As per tradition for each match, the parents of second-year varsity player Shannon had handed out the pom poms to fellow varsity and junior varsity parents, junior varsity players, and friends.
The upper school volleyball program has been preparing extensively for senior night; both the varsity and junior varsity players designed and decorated t-shirts and posters to honor the seniors. The two teams arrived at Blackford early and adorned the walls of the gym with the posters. Additionally, the sophomores and juniors on the varsity team put together personalized albums for each of the seniors. The albums documented the team’s previous games and tournaments, team bonding events, and the team’s summer trip to Hawaii (where they played beach volleyball matches and bonded in preparation for the 2013-2014 season).
After decorating the gym, the junior varsity team began warming up for their game against Mercy’s junior varsity team, a match which the Eagles’ went on to win 25-16, 25-14. Following a respite, the senior night ceremony was held.
During the senior night ceremony, the younger varsity players and Head Varsity Volleyball coach Theresa “Smitty” Smith presented the varsity players’ parents with large bouquets to recognize their efforts over the past several years. In addition, Coach Smitty gave a speech to the gym, in which she praised the players and thanked them for their many years of practice and dedication towards the sport of volleyball. After pictures were taken, the team began to warm up and “pepper” for the first set.
Smitty has high hopes for her team in CCS and beyond, and she believes that her players have the necessary skills to go far.
“My hope is that we are peaking now that we are entering the CCS tournament. We have the talent to make a deep run in CCS and we’d like to make it to the finals and move on to Nor Cal’s,” she said in pre-game interview.
“The girls that have been on varsity for a while have improved every aspect of their game, but more importantly, they teach the younger players in the program what it means to be a Harker Volleyball player. They’ve sacrificed over the years to be at every practice, and to come in and work out over the summer, and to play club volleyball because they know that is the key to our team’s success,” she added.”
This year’s four graduating seniors are outside hitter Divya Kalidindi, libero Mercedes Chien, defensive specialist/right side hitter Renu Singh, and setter Christina Wong. Former varsity athlete Urvi Gupta was also honored at the ceremony by Coach Smitty. Though Urvi was unable to continue on with varsity team her senior year, the coaches felt that her years of participation in the program deserved recognition.
Divya, who is a captain, reflected back on her three years on Varsity playing volleyball and shared the impact volleyball has had on her life, “I will definitely miss Harker volleyball. It’s been such a huge and integral part of my life during high school, and playing with my teammates for the last home game will definitely be bittersweet.”
Doreene Kang (10) stated, “I’ll miss all of our seniors, especially because so many people on our team have stayed since last year. This is the first year that I’ve had graduating seniors and I can’t believe that they’ll be done once the season is over.”
The game closed with the girls celebrating together in huddle at the center of the court. Though this is the last league match and could potentially be the final home game, Varsity will compete in their CCS seeding match this Saturday, November 9 in a location yet to be announced.
Tara Parimi (12) is co-Editor-in-Chief of Harker Aquila, and this is her fourth year on staff. She has been involved with the upper school's journalism...