![“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)
![“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)
![“[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)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasn't making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable," Carter Chadwick ('22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
Varsity girls volleyball wins against Notre Dame High School on senior night
Melissa Kwan (11) and Katrina Liou (10) honor senior Rachel Cheng with flowers on senior night. The Eagles won 3-1 against Notre Dame at Blackford on Thursday.
October 27, 2016
Varsity girls volleyball won its senior night game against Notre Dame High School 3-1 at Blackford at 5:45 pm.
Prior to the game, head coach Theresa “Smitty” Smith honored senior varsity players Rachel Cheng, Taylor Iantosca, Grace Park and Lindsey Trinh. Jonathan Schwartz (12), manager for the varsity girls team, was also recognized for his hard work throughout the season. Rachel, Taylor and Lindsey have been on varsity since their sophomore year, while Grace joined the team this year.
“The four seniors really put their stuff out there and did a great job,” Smith said. “It was nice to see all the fans. It helps to have all those people behind you. Everybody got to play today and everybody contributed. [I’m] just super proud of the seniors.”
The team’s current league record is 3-6 and their overall record is 6-18.
“It’s been a rough season,” Smith said. “We play a very competitive schedule. I think our tallest player is maybe 5’9” and we’re playing mostly six footers most of the time, except for this team today. We fight hard, never stop trying and never stop working to get better. It was a great way to finish it tonight with this win.”
Rachel Cheng commented on what she will miss most about playing with her team.
“[I’m going to miss] just all the small memories of my teammates [and] definitely just hanging out every day and having the little moments in the locker room before practice,” Rachel said.
The four sets had scores of 25-20, 25-16, 23-25 and 25-18, respectively.
“Senior night is special because it’s the final game that some of these girls may be playing. Not all of them are going to play in college, so it’s the last game,” Jonathan said.
Right side hitter Isabella Spradlin (11) reflected on a positive moment from the third set of the game, despite a close loss of 23-25 for the match.
“I thought the highlight of today’s game was when during the third game, we got a good dig and it didn’t seem like we were going to get it off, but then Allison got it with her foot, Rachel sent it over and we got the kill,” Isabella said.
This game and senior night ceremony concluded the varsity girls volleyball season since they did not qualify for CCS.
