![“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)
Boys volleyball wins CCS Division 3, overpowers Carmel
Jeffery Kwan hits the ball during the CCS championship match against the Carmel Padres. The match was held at St. Francis High School today.
May 11, 2019
The varsity boys volleyball team defeated the Carmel Padres 29-27, 25-17, 25-18 to clinch the Central Coast Section (CCS) Division 3 title in a historic game this afternoon.
This game marked a rematch of last year’s CCS championship final, which the Eagles lost 23-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-18, 18-16 to the Padres.
“Going into the game was a little stressful because it was a rematch of last years CCS finals and we really wanted to reverse what happened last year and we wanted to do whatever it takes to make sure that we didn’t lose, especially to Carmel again in CCS finals,” libero Chris Gong (12) said.
The match was held at St. Francis High School, with several students and faculty coming out to support the Eagles. After a close first set that finally ended with Charlie Molin (12) serving two aces to clinch it 29-27, Harker was able to maintain control and finish out the match in three sets.
“Being a libero, I feel like my position lends itself to pure effort. For me, it was just a matter of making sure the ball doesn’t hit the floor all the time. It was just like I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. I’m going to hit the floor for any ball I see. If I can get to the ball, I will. If it means jumping into the stands, jumping over the bench, I will do that. It’s just like I will do whatever it takes to make sure that I know that I gave all my effort to make sure that we would win,” Chris said.
This is the first time that the boys volleyball team has ever won a CCS title, and it comes near the conclusion of a historic season for the team that saw them ranked as high as seventh in the nation.
The boys, seeded second in the NorCal regional championships, will host a first-round matchup against seventh seed Northgate at 7 p.m. in the Athletic Center. They will look to advance to the second round, where they will compete against the winner of the matchup between Bellarmine and Campolindo. The full bracket can be viewed here.
This story has been updated to include additional media content at 6:45 p.m. on May 13, 2019.
