Varsity boys volleyball team shuts out Harbor 25-8, 25-14, 25-12
May 21, 2023
Adrian Liu (11) sets Rahul Yalla (10), earning a kill against Harbor High school in their match on May 11. Adrian’s favorite play of the game was his attack on the second contact at the end of the third set.
The varsity boys volleyball team crushed Harbor High School 25-8, 25-14, 25-12 in the semifinals on May 11 at home.
Harker started off strong over the Pirates and scored many points through a combination of kills and Harbor’s errors, progressing the score to 8-1. Harker stumbled a bit, with Harbor earning a couple of points on a freeball and a block, but the Eagles quickly resumed their previous pace, with two stuff blocks by middle blocker Edis Mesic (11) propelling Harkers’ lead to 18-6. The Eagles easily finished the set out with kills from Spencer and Zachary, concluding the match 25-8.
Harker, picking up from the former set, scored kill after kill early on to start the second . Later on, they made some unforced errors in the match which helped Harbor shorten the score gap. Harker managed to hold a lead over the Pirates, with notable plays going to Aaron, who earned four kills within the span of six points, bringing the score to 15-7. At 17-10, Harbor called a timeout after serving out of bounds but was unable to put a stop to the Eagles’ momentum. Though Harbor made a late push with a couple of kills, Harker led the final stretch of the game, shutting out the Pirates 25-14 in a four-point scoring run marked by a kill and a block from Edis, a setter dump from Adrian and a kill from Aaron.
Harker and Harbor stayed even at the beginning of the third and final set due to both teams missing serves and swings. The Eagles started taking control of the set after 7-5, building up a stable lead through a tip kill from Edis and a block from Rahul. The Pirates called a timeout at 12-6, and after, Harker continued to dominate the match with kills from Rahul, Aaron, Spencer and Edis, catapulting the score to 19-9. Edis also earned two more kills in the match, one on a tip and the other on a swing, and Adrian scored a significant point on a surprise setter swing on the second contact, upping the score to 24-12. Aaron closed the game 25-12 with a kill.
“We expected to have a tougher competition, but when we didn’t have that big challenge, it was a little bit tough to be focused and play good volleyball all of the time,” Adrian said. “Especially in some of the third set, we were breaking down; we were just messing around a little bit, and I think that was reflected in the score. But near the end, we were able to play good volleyball.”