![“[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 girls volleyball team loses to Westmont High School in close five-set game
Norah Mehanna (10) crouches to return the opponent’s serve at the varsity girls volleyball game against Westmont High School on Sept. 15. The girls lost in a close five-set game.
September 25, 2022
The varsity girls volleyball team fell to Westmont High School on Sept. 15 at home 21-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-12 and 7-15.
The Eagles began the first set with a strong lead and initially pulled ahead with an assertive spike from Jessica Tang (12). After multiple long rallies and impressive plays from both teams, Westmont narrowed the difference near the end of the set to 20-17. After Westmont called a time-out, they surpassed the Eagles in the last quarter, ending the set with the score 21-25.
In the second set, the Eagles immediately set the score to 2-0 after close teamwork from Rachel Ning (12) and Emily Mitnick (10), consecutively setting and spiking the ball. Juhi Madala (11) and Keira Chang (9) boosted their lead through multiple power serves and helped the team further widen their forefront for the rest of the set, winning 25-19.
“I’m very proud of how all of us played,” player Juhi Madala (11) said. “We hit a few serve receive ruts [where we had difficulty with returning opponent serves], but I think we put up a very good fight and made up for the points lost.”
The third set started off with another point lead, and the Eagles kept up the pace through multiple ace serves and defensive blocks. After the timeout called by Harker, however, Westmont closed the gap and overtook the Eagles in a series of 6 points, bringing the score to 20-25.
The Eagles once again dominated at the beginning of the fourth set and maintained their lead throughout the entire set. The team performed well in their serves and spikes and ended the set with a score of 25-12.
In the tie-breaking fifth set, the two teams rallied back and forth and were head-to-head in score. Westmont gained a more substantial lead after a timeout, leaving the Eagles defeated 7-15 after a close match.
“I’m really glad to play with the people I’m playing with, and I’m having so much fun on the court with them,” Juhi said. “So, even though losing was a blow, I view the match as a testament to how far we’ve gotten and how far we have to go.”
After the game, varsity volleyball coach Rick Riebhoff reflected on the efforts of the team and looks forward to watching the players grow in the future.
“We battled, but kind of shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times,” Rieboff said. “We couldn’t manage to sustain the momentum that we had in set four into the final set, which is too bad because we did some really good things in that fourth set.”
