![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
Harker loses 3-2 against rival team Monta Vista
March 26, 2019
In one of the toughest games of the season, the varsity boys volleyball team, ranked 7th in the nation, lost to the 4th ranking school, Monta Vista, in a head-to-head match in 5 matches last Friday, the respective scores being 25-19, 22-25, 21-25, 25-20 and 12-15.
Somewhat considered to be Harker’s rival, Head Coach Chad Gordon describes Monta Vista as “the ones who we could never beat last year.” This loss brings their overall record to 8-1.
The Eagles started strong, sweeping the first set with a 25-19 victory with help from several aces by Brian Pinkston (10) and Charlie Molin (12).
They lost the coming sets in a grueling back and forth match which could have gone to either side. The whole way, the divide between the scores never drifted outside of a difference of 3 or 4 points.
“We responded to the pressure of having a really tough team, and Monta Vista deserves a lot of credit” Gordon said. “We stayed steady and we were good on our focus, and it just came down to a couple of plays and a couple of things that we can’t stop.”
The team gained momentum during the 4th set, each increasing cheer from the crowd fueling the players until even the strategically called time-outs by Monta Vista couldn’t break their momentum. Strong blocks from Billy Fan (10) and Jarrett Anderson (12) also aided in their 4th set victory.
Eventually, however, their fatigue began to catch up to them and Monta Vista pulled ahead to achieve an extremely close 12-15 victory over the Eagles in closest that Harker has ever gotten to defeating its rival.
“I think we could have had a little better stamina. I think we kind of ran out of energy a little bit at the end, but I was pretty happy with our effort,” setter and team captain Charlie said.
Even so, throughout the game, the Eagles displayed the incredible prowess and teamwork that earned them the well-deserved title of 7th in the nation, a massive upgrade from last year’s rank of 36th.
Outside hitter Jarrett Anderson consistently powered through blocks by the other team, dazzling the crowd with his offensive power.
Co-captain Jeffrey Kwan (11) consistently came through defensively throughout the entirety of the game, diving to the floor with amazing last minute saves that bought the team back many lost points.
“Hopefully we’ll see Monta Vista again in the finals, and we’ll see if we can correct some errors,” Gordon said.
The boys played again Saturday at the Monta Vista campus for the Monta Vista Volleyball Tournament, making it to the finals before losing 2-0 to Monta Vista once again. They will face Monta Vista once more at CCS, which the team is expected to qualify for.
