![“[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)
Varsity girls’ volleyball loses to Monte Vista Christian
Taylor Iantosca (12) serves the ball during a set at the game. Eagles lost the game 0-3 at Blackford on Tuesday.
August 30, 2016
The girls’ varsity volleyball team lost to Monte Vista Christian School during a home game at Blackford at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
During the game, the girls lost three of three 25-point sets, bringing their overall record this season to 2-5. Assistant coach Alex Jones spoke about the team’s performance throughout the game.
“Today we really struggled at the beginning of the game,” he said. “We had a very slow start, but I was glad that we were able to rebound, and we improved on some of the things we needed to work on from this weekend’s play.”
The girls lost to Sacred Heart 0-2 during a tournament match on Saturday. Jones commented on how the team improved since Saturday’s game.
“We did a much better job step closing and attacking the ball from our outside hitters and opposites,” he said. “We haven’t been passing as well as we did last year, but we pointed out some things on Monday at practice and we were able to execute some of those things. Even though we had a three-set loss, we’re trying to take out as many positives as we can.”
Taylor Iantosca (12) plays as a defensive specialist on the team. This year will be her third season on varsity.
“Considering the first [match] was really rough, I think we did really well in not losing hope and fighting back to come back from a 9-19 losing streak,” she said. “Even though we lost 22-25, we were still in the 20’s, [which] is really good.”
This year’s varsity team consists of one freshman, two sophomores, five juniors and four seniors. Carol Liou, mother of player Katrina Liou (10), discussed goals for the future of the team this season.
“They had quite a few students graduate last year, so I think a good goal for this year would be to get everyone working together really well and the newer players trained really well,” she said.
The team will play their next non-conference match at Presentation High School this Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
