![“[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 boys volleyball loses to Homestead High School in five sets
Jarett Anderson (10) prepares to hit the ball against blockers. The boys varsity volleyball team lost to Homestead in five sets.
April 18, 2017
Varsity boys’ volleyball lost against Homestead in five sets today at Blackford, dropping their overall record to 14-10.
Harker took the lead early, winning the first set 25-22. From there, the two teams traded victories, with Homestead winning the second set 25-12, and Harker taking the third, 25-20. Homestead went on to win the fourth set 25-22 to tie the game up at 2-2, before securing the fifth set 15-10.
Chris Gong (10) thought the team started the game off well but could have played better towards the end.
“I think we could have just [played harder] towards the end a little more, because we started falling apart near the end and started making a couple too many errors,” Chris said. “But other than that, I think it was a pretty good match.”
Jeffrey Kwan (9) believed that team chemistry was also a problem in the game, as the lineup went through significant changes prior to the game.
“We never played together,” Jeffrey said. “We should work on our system a little more, because we didn’t really know how to play together, and we only had five minutes of practice together, so that was hard. [But] we came together as a team, played against a really really good team: Homestead, and we came really close, so that was good.”
Head coach Alex Jones did not see this as a failure, but instead, as a success.
“It was the best we’ve played as a team all season,” Jones said. “We played a new lineup tonight, and we took one of the best teams in five [sets]. We had an opportunity to beat them in four, but what’s most important is that we were able to go out there and play like a team. Everyone was able to buy into the game plan.”
The team hosts Saratoga High School at Blackford next Wednesday, April 26th.
