![“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)
Junior varsity boys volleyball team loses to Monta Vista in three-set thriller
The team races to hug one another as they jump up and down in excitement, after their comeback in the second set. The Eagles played two close sets after their initial setback in the first.
March 29, 2022
The junior varsity boys volleyball team lost to the Monta Vista Matadors at home, 12-25, 25-23, 13-15 on Mar. 16.
The Eagles fell behind dramatically in the first set, losing 12-25. The team rebounded in the second set, pulling ahead of the Matadors for a hardfought 25-23 victory.
“My favorite part about today’s game is probably coming back from the big deficit in the first set,” libero Jordan Labio (10) said. “But we still really wanted to win in the second and third sets, when it was really close, and we actually won the second set, so I’m really proud of that.
Monta Vista ultimately prevailed in the third set, but the team demonstrated their resilience and competitive edge.
“We started playing smarter the second set. I loved it. We adapted,” junior varsity boys volleyball head coach Artem Kosikov said to the team after the game.
Defensive specialist Jacob Smith (9) believes the team can communicate more during games.
“We can get better [at] communication, and be a lot more in sync with each other,” Jacob said.
Kosikov, who is in his first year coaching at Harker, ended the pep talk by praising his team for their unrelenting effort and willingness to swing away in tight situations.
“We went out, we swung at the ball,” Kosikov said. “So keep your heads up, the losses and wins don’t really matter, what matters is you go out there and hit that ball. You kids showed to me that you wanted to win, so this was a win in my book.”
The team then lost 0-2 to Homestead on March 18, 1-2 to Los Gatos on March 23 and 0-2 to Cupertino this past Friday. They will face Lynbrook tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
