![“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)
On Thursday, September 13, the Varsity girls’ volleyball team beat Saratoga High School in a four-set match at the Blackford gym.
The team started off strong, winning the first set with a score of 25-9. Despite a push from Saratoga, the Eagles stayed in control and won the second set 25-21. In the third set, missed serves and a few other errors, along with a strong comeback effort by the opposing team, led to a 24-26 loss and a forced fourth set. Despite the setback, the girls stayed tough and finished off the game with a 25-14 win.
“I thought we played pretty well. We came out great, and we held them to nine points in game one which was good,” Head Coach Theresa “Smitty” Smith said. “[We] were able to get everyone into play, which was great. [I] wasn’t so happy with game three, […] but I was really happy with the way they came back in game four.”
Offence was a key factor in this victory. Divya Kalidindi (11) and co-captain Shreya Dixit (10) led the team with 11 kills each, followed by Shannon Richardson (9) with 10. Divya also had the most service aces with seven, and Shreya had four solo blocks. Additionally, Doreene Kang (9) excelled at the net with three solo blocks and four assist blocks.
“I thought our offence was pretty good,” Shreya said. “Everyone did a really good job hitting today. [We] played the ball really well.”
Only four games into the season, the team has much more ahead of them and a lot of time to continue to improve their game, according to Smith.
“I want us to grow. […] The team is super young, so we want to just keep improving and working on the process instead of just trying to win games,” Smith said. “[We’re] trying to get better every day.”
Both teams play again at home on Tuesday, September 18 against Immaculate Conception Academy in their first league game of the season. JV plays at 4:30 p.m., followed by Varsity at 5:45 p.m.
